Buffalo, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr.
announced today that Ronald Caryl, 26, of Silver Springs, NY, who was convicted
of conspiracy to produce child pornography, was sentenced to serve 200 months
in prison and 20 years supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J.
Vilardo.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron J. Mango and Stephanie O.
Lamarque, who handled the case, stated that on February 14, 2017, the defendant
began communicating on MeetMe.com, a social networking service, with a
23-year-old woman in Nashville, Tennessee. During the conversation, the two
began to discuss Caryl providing the woman with $300 to have sex with her. The
woman wrote, “just $300 and u do what u want to me.” The defendant replied, “do you have a young
girl who could join I’ll pay more...you into young girls”? The woman responded, “as long as they r 18
and older,” to which Caryl replied, “Ya I meant younger I’ll pay 6000.” The
woman replied, “I can’t put things in her mouth she gets sick she’s disabled.”
The defendant went on to say, “show me your daughter,” and then the woman
allegedly sent a picture to the defendant. Caryl continued to press the woman
to send naked pictures of her one-year-old daughter.The victim’s mother was prosecuted by the United States
Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Tennessee. She has pleaded guilty
and is awaiting sentencing in federal court in Tennessee.
A MeetMe.com staff member identified the possible
endangerment of a minor and illegal content and notified the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) who in turn notified the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.
“The depravity of the conduct by both the defendant and the
disabled infant’s mother is unthinkable,” stated U.S. Attorney Kennedy. “Child
predators, such as the defendant, belong in cages so they cannot continue to
victimize children. Parents, such as the victim’s mother, who fail to wrap
their arms around their children in order to protect them in the face of such
predators, deserve to have those arms handcuffed behind their back.”
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the
Federal Bureau of investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge
Gary Loeffert. Additional assistance was also provided by the Wyoming County
Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Gregory J. Rudolph, the
Cheektowaga Police Department, under the direction of Chief David J. Zack, and
the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James R.
Voutour.
