Ryan Meyung, a motocross instructor who traveled the country building motocross tracks and mentoring children has been indicted for multiple child exploitation offenses.
“Meyung allegedly produced, transported, and possessed child pornography while working with children as a motocross coach,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Victimizing children is heinous and horrific. With the help of our law enforcement partners, we will relentlessly pursue these types of sexual predators.”
“There is no place in our society for those who prey on innocent children and individuals who use their position of trust to gain access to children are particularly heinous,” said HSI Nashville Special Agent in Charge Jerry C. Templet. “We are thankful to our special agents and our law enforcement partners who do the difficult but important work of investigating these crimes and safeguarding our nation’s children.”
According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Ryan Meyung allegedly engaged six different minor victims in sexually explicit conduct to produce images of child sexual abuse, and transported and possessed visual images of child sexual abuse. The alleged crimes occurred between 2019 and 2021. He was arrested on state charges in December 2021 and has remained in custody.
Meyung was known to frequent states including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
Ryan Meyung, 30, was charged with six counts of producing child pornography, one count of transporting child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial
This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Chattanooga jointly with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office (Tennessee), the Chattanooga Police Department, and HSI field offices throughout the country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin N. Spritzer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, and the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.
Investigators believe Meyung may have victimized additional children. If you have information related to Meyung that could further law enforcement’s investigation, or if you suspect that a particular child may have been one of his victims, you are encouraged to call the HSI Tipline at 866-347-2423 or https://www.ice.gov/tipline.
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 CEOS, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.
