Groton Man Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Federal Prison for Child Exploitation Offense

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RYAN CAMERON, 23, of Groton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 90 months of imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release for a child exploitation offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2023, Cameron was convicted in state court of illegal dissemination of intimate images of a 15-year-old female. In April 2024, while Cameron was on state probation, his probation officer conducted a home visit and discovered Cameron was in possession of a cell phone in violation of the conditions of his probation. Subsequent forensic analysis of the phone revealed that it contained videos of child sexual abuse and messages between Cameron and others in which Cameron solicited and distributed child pornography. The phone also contained recordings of Cameron sending sexually explicit images and videos of himself to young girls on Snapchat.

Cameron has been detained since May 20, 2024, when he was arrested on unrelated state charges. On January 3, 2025, he pleaded guilty in federal court to receipt of child pornography.

This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the New Haven Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lembo.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit https://www.cybertipline.comLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..