Tucson-area teacher arrested on federal child pornography charge

A Pima County man was sentenced Wednesday to 340 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of a minor under 15 years of age thanks, in part, to an investigation by HSI.

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TUCSON – A middle school teacher made his initial appearance in federal court Wednesday afternoon following his arrest for allegedly using a peer-to-peer application to download and share multiple video files depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Ryan Bono, 36, of Oro Valley, was taken into custody by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). He is charged in a criminal complaint with one count of distributing child pornography.

According to the complaint, Bono allegedly distributed child pornography to an HSI undercover agent, including a video file depicting a nude, prepubescent boy engaging in sexually explicit activity. A preliminary forensic examination of one of the computers recovered at the defendant’s residence revealed multiple video files depicting child pornography.

Bono, a language arts teacher at Math and Science Success Academy and a youth soccer coach, is currently in federal custody held without bond, his detention hearing is set for Friday. While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary evidence does not indicate that any of the youth Bono taught or coached were victims. Anyone having information that may be relevant to this case is asked to call 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or submit information using the HSI tip form.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If he is convicted of distributing child pornography, Bono faces up to 20 years in federal prison. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carin Duryee.

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