Man from Bellevue sentenced to 27 years in prison for child abuse | Police/Courts

According to the plea agreement filed on June 26 by Josh Hurwit, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho, Riding communicated with a 15-year-old girl through the website Omegle and the social media platform Snapchat, persuading her to send him nude photos despite being aware of her age. He then threatened to post the photos online if the victim did not send him explicit videos of herself. Fearing the photos would be published, the minor sent him child pornography over a two-month period, Hurwit said.

Eventually, the victim and her family came forward to law enforcement, which led the FBI to execute a search warrant on Riding's Bellevue residence on Feb. 13, 2020, according to the settlement. There, officers seized one of Riding's cellphones for forensic examination and discovered sexually explicit photographs of another minor, a 16-year-old female, whom they were able to locate and contact. The second victim stated that Riding used similar tactics to coerce her into producing explicit content.

On December 14, 2022, while Riding was awaiting sentencing at his family home in Gillette, Wyoming, the FBI received a tip that he continued to distribute and receive child pornography via Snapchat. In February 2023, a second search warrant was executed at the Gillette family home.

During the search in February, officials discovered “that Riding had previously contacted a minor child in another state and traveled there to record sexual acts with the child,” the U.S. Department of Justice said in an August 14 press release.

Riding also admitted to possessing child pornography featuring a fourth underage victim on his digital devices, Hurwit said. In total – on Riding's three cell phones, his desktop computer and his USB drive – the FBI found “at least 982 files containing child pornography, including more than 200 video files containing child pornography” that “depicted sadistic and masochistic behavior and other violent depictions,” Hurwit said.

A fifth minor victim was identified in these files, but no other victims could be identified, Hurwit said.

Hurwit praised the cooperation of the FBI and several law enforcement agencies and task forces in Idaho, Washington and Wyoming, including the Wyoming Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The Department of Homeland Security also participated in the prosecution of Riding.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David G. Robins and Kassandra McGrady.