Allentown Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Distribution, Receipt, and Possession of Child Pornography

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Ryan Antrim, 29, of Allentown, Pennsylvania was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Edward G. Smith, for the distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.

Between July and November 2017, the defendant utilized Kik Messenger (Kik), a free proprietary instant messaging software application primarily for mobile devices, as a way to join a Kik group focused on the sexual abuse of children. As a member of this group, Antrim distributed various images and videos, and also received sexually explicit images of young children under the age of twelve years old. On February 15, 2019, Antrim pled guilty to all charges. 

“Antrim took part in a repugnant online community that glorified the sexual exploitation of children,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Distributing sexually explicit videos and photos of young children is reprehensible behavior that demands swift justice. My Office will continue to aggressively prosecute these types of crimes in order to deter this repulsive behavior and protect children.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.