Former Reno Nurse Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Sharing Child Sexual Abuse Material

RENO - A Reno man, previously employed as a registered nurse, who admitted to sending and receiving child sexual abuse materials was sentenced Wednesday by United States District Judge Anne R. Traum to 84 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release. The government recommended 151 months and lifetime supervision.

According to court documents and information provided in court, between March 2024 and August 2024, Ryan Horton used the Kik messenger application to send and receive images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. A subsequent search of Horton's cellphone conducted by the FBI revealed over 5,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse material, including children as young as toddlers engaged in sexually explicit conduct with adults.

Horton pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

"The images shared by Mr. Horton exemplify the grave issue of child exploitation," said Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office. "By sharing and trading abusive images, his actions perpetuated a vicious cycle of harm. Mr. Horton not only possessed thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse, but much of it was particularly violent, even depicting the abuse of children as young as toddlers. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the dedicated members of the FBI's Northern Nevada Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task force and prosecutors in investigating these critical cases to hold dangerous child predators accountable."

First Assistant United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, Horton will be required to register as a sex offender and keep the registration current in each of the following jurisdictions: (1) where he resides; (2) where he is an employee; and (3) where he is a student.

The case was investigated by the Northern Nevada Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force comprised of the FBI, Nevada Attorney General's Office, Sparks Police Department, and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Keenan prosecuted the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Justice Department'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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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