A Wilmington man, Tyler Ramaley, was sentenced on April 7 to more than ten years in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material. U.S. District Judge Gregory B. Williams handed down the sentence of 121 months after Ramaley was found to have shared explicit content involving minors, including infants.
Authorities said Ramaley, age 32, participated in Zoom video chat rooms with other men where they watched and discussed videos depicting severe sexual violence against children. During these sessions, he also streamed his own collection of illegal materials for others. After his arrest, FBI agents searched his devices and discovered additional illicit content as well as conversations about exploiting children.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin L. Wallace said, “Every time Tyler Ramaley watched a video of a child being sexually abused—and every time he helped another person do so—he was victimizing that child all over again. My Office will never stop pursuing those who hurt children, even if we need to chase those offenders through the darkest corners of the internet. I thank our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, whose excellent investigative work led to the arrest and conviction of this dangerous offender.”
FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul said: “The FBI investigates crimes of violence and sexual abuse against children as a top priority. The sentencing of Tyler Ramaley for having knowingly received, possessed, and shared videos of child sexual abuse material will hopefully provide a degree of relief to Ramaley’s victims. Ramaley victimized the most vulnerable members of our society, and the FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force will vigorously pursue anyone who commits such crimes.”
After serving his prison term, Ramaley must register as a sex offender upon release.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Delaware Violent Crime and Safe Streets Task Force with help from local law enforcement agencies including New Castle County Police Department and Delaware State Police.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006—to combat child exploitation using resources at all levels to identify offenders and rescue victims.
