Las Vegas Felon Sentenced To Nearly 12 Years In Prison For Possession Of Child Sexual Abuse Material

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man who was serving his prison sentence for a prior conviction for possession of child pornography was sentenced today by United States District Judge Anne R. Traum to 140 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for possession of child sexual abuse material.

Ronald William Dougherty (52) pleaded guilty on March 30, 2023, to one count of possession of child pornography. In addition to imprisonment, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Dougherty must register as a sex offender after completion of his prison term.

According to court documents, on January 7, 2015, Dougherty was convicted of possession of child pornography, and he was permitted to complete his sentence at the Las Vegas Community Corrections Center. Staff at the residential re-entry center located an iPhone belonging to Dougherty. A forensic search of the iPhone found 179 images and 35 videos of child sexual abuse material, including depictions of children as young as toddlers. Dougherty also admitted to distributing child sexual abuse material using his personal email address.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Supriya Prasad prosecuted the case.

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. Attorney’s Offices and the Department of Justice’s 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.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or online at www.cybertipline.org.

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