Former Boy Scout executive to plead guilty to child exploitation charges

Ryan C. Bieler,33, of Ireland, Indiana, has petitioned a federal court to enter a plea of guilty to child exploitation charges that include the possession and receipt of child pornography, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett.

Bieler was most recently employed as a Senior District Executive of the Boy Scouts Buffalo Trace Council, which is based in Evansville and includes five counties: Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Pike, and Dubois.

“Our goal in any case involving the exploitation of children is to achieve justice for those who have been victimized,” Hogsett said. “Under the terms of this guilty plea, any identified victims will have access to financial restitution, and the defendant faces years in prison without the possibility of parole.”

“More importantly, I hope this prosecution sends a message that our nationally-recognized Project Safe Childhood team has a zero-tolerance policy for those who endanger Hoosier children, and we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute these cases,” Hogsett added.

If the defendant’s petition to plead guilty is accepted by the court, the defendant will admit to one count of possessing sexually explicit material involving minors, and four counts of receiving sexually explicit material involving minors.

The agreement to plead guilty also stipulates that the government may request restitution for child victims identified by investigators, and the defendant will agree to forfeit all electronic equipment associated with his child pornography collection. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has also reserved the right to pursue additional criminal charges if new allegations come to light.

According to a criminal complaint filed in November 2012, a joint investigation between the United States Postal Inspection Service and foreign law enforcement officials began in October 2010, centering on a movie production company located outside the United States. On May 1, 2011, a search warrant was executed at offices owned by this company, and law enforcement seized hundreds of DVD movies and photographs allegedly depicting sexually explicit conduct by children. It was allegedly determined that these images and movies were being shipped worldwide, and documents listing customers were located and analyzed.

As a result of this investigation, it was alleged that a customer of the movie company was located in Ireland, Indiana, and the records identified that individual as Ryan Bieler. On November 1, 2012, a search warrant was issued for his address, and on November 8, 2012, that warrant was executed. The complaint alleges that Bieler was home during the search, and agreed to speak with investigators.

During the search of the defendant’s home, a number of data storage discs were allegedly located and preliminarily examined, including DVDs purchased from the international movie company. Many of these discs allegedly depict minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In addition, an initial forensic examination of the defendant’s home computer allegedly revealed more images and movies depicting child pornography. Bieler is alleged to have admitted to downloading and purchasing these materials during an interview with law enforcement.

The complaint alleges that Bieler also admitted to law enforcement that he had a sexual interest in minor children, with the materials located indicating a strong interest in minor boys. Investigators also allegedly located written material in the defendant’s home in which Bieler describes his physical attraction to particular boys he has had access to and interaction with through his positions with the Boy Scouts of America. Hogsett said the Boy Scouts of America were fully cooperating with federal law enforcement in their efforts.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Shellenbarger, who is prosecuting the case for the government, the agreement to plead guilty provides the court with a guideline sentence range of roughly 8-10 years in federal prison. The final determination of sentence length will be up to the judge in this case. Shellenbarger said that Bieler also faces lifetime registration as a sexual predator and federal supervised release.

This case was brought by the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and the Indiana State Police, as part of the U.S. Attorney’s 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.