A Harrisville man, Ryan Vallee, 31, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material while on federal supervised release. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha D. Elliott also ordered Vallee to serve five years of supervised release and pay $10,000 in restitution. In April 2025, Vallee pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the production of child sexual abuse material.
“The defendant is a recidivist offender who illegally sought out CSAM while on federal supervised release,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan. “This case is one of many that highlights the importance of reporting child sexual exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). A cyber tip to NCMEC alerted law enforcement to online activity that led to the detection of the defendant’s crime.”
According to court documents and statements made during proceedings, law enforcement executed a search warrant on June 6, 2024, at Vallee’s residence, vehicle, and electronic devices. Authorities found a cellphone containing four videos and 175 images of child sexual abuse material as well as an SD card with 11 videos of similar content. At the time of the search, Vallee was under federal supervision following previous convictions in 2017 for interstate threats, computer fraud and abuse, aggravated identity theft, and cyberstalking.
The investigation was led by the Department of Homeland Security with assistance from the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Merrimack County Sheriff’s Office, Harrisville Police Department, and Belmont Police Department. Assistant U.S Attorney Anna Z. Krasinski prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at protecting children from exploitation and abuse by coordinating resources among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
