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Press Release

Evansville Child Predator Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison After Sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material via Skout

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Indiana

 

EVANSVILLE- Ricky Adams, 33, of Evansville, Indiana, has been sentenced to 5 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, on September 17, 2021, investigators with the FBI and the Evansville Police Department (EPD) received a tip from a social network dating application called Skout. Skout can be used for messaging and online chatting by its members.  

In the chat session reported to the FBI and EPD by Skout, chat participants discussed the sexual abuse of children. A months-long investigation ultimately identified Adams as a participant in the reported online chat session. Adams made claims to another chat participant that he was playing truth or dare with “his children,” ages 13, 12, 9 and 6. In the chats, Adams claimed to be sexually active with the purported children. Adams did not actually have control of, or access to, any children at the time. Adams sent at least two images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct during the chat session. 

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers, Herbert J. Stapleton, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Field Office, and Chief Billy Bolin of the Evansville Police Department made the announcement.

“This defendant joined others online to share heinous images depicting the sexual abuse of children,” said United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Zachary A. Myers “Those who are gratified by the sexual exploitation of the most vulnerable of victims are a tremendous danger to our communities. We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners at the FBI and Evansville Police Department to identify these criminals and send them to prison, where our children are out of their reach.”

The FBI investigated this case with valuable assistance from the Evansville Police Department. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge, Richard L. Young. Judge Young also ordered that Adams be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years following his release from federal prison.

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant United States Attorney Todd S. Shellenbarger, who prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a partnership of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies led by the Indiana State Police. The Task Force is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting crimes involving the technology-facilitated sexual exploitation of children and the trafficking of child sexual abuse material. Each year, Indiana ICAC investigators evaluate thousands of tips, investigate hundreds of cases, and rescue dozens of children from ongoing sexual abuse.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc

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Updated January 18, 2024

Topic
Project Safe Childhood