Ex-motocross coach Ryan Meyung was sentenced to 40 years in prison for engaging in and documenting child sexual abuse. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia reported, following his guilty plea earlier this year on six counts of child pornography production; Meyung, without a fixed address and aged 33 at the time of sentencing, was convicted on April 26, and his punishment also includes a lifetime of supervised release, plus he’s been ordered to pay $193,500 in restitution to the victims.
Meyung, who traversed the nation mentoring youths and crafting motocross tracks, has been revealed as the perpetrator of heinous sexual exploitation crimes against children as young as six, his actions betraying the inherent trust placed in him by both the youth and their families, the US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Ryan K. Buchanan, indicated, emphasizing the concerted effort by law enforcement agencies to bring such offenders to justice and praising the coordination that spanned state boundaries to ensure this outcome. Additionally Homeland Security Investigations underscored the gravity of such betrayal by individuals tasked with protecting and guiding young lives.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement, between July 2019 and December 2021, Meyung coerced six minors into illicit acts, capturing their abuse on camera for production of child pornography; he was caught not only with his own illicit material but also with imagery produced by other sex offenders, including content that he transported across state lines.
This case, part of the nationwide initiative Project Safe Childhood launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, was investigated with the combined efforts of multiple Homeland Security Investigation offices and local law enforcement including the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the Chattanooga Police Department, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin N. Spritzer and Trial Attorneys Jessica L. Urban and James E. Burke IV serving as prosecutors, and it was this project, aimed at combating the epidemic rise in child sexual exploitation and abuse, that brought numerous resources together to aggressively tackle perpetrators exploiting children through the Internet and also focus on victim identification and recovery.
For those seeking more information or wishing to report instances of child exploitation, resources and details regarding Project Safe Childhood can be found on the Department of Justice website, as well as contact information for the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office for any further inquiries regarding the current case or initiative.
