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School Security Guard Sentenced to 30 Years for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

Ryan Dookhan was sentenced in federal district court following an investigation into online child sexual exploitation.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 12:13 p.m. ET
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This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.

More on this incident

According to the sentencing announcement issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Michigan (Justice Department release 2026_0814_Dookhan_Sentenced), Ryan Dookhan, 31, of Jamaica, New York, was on August 14, 2026, to 30 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor. Chief U.S. District Judge Hala Y. Jarbou imposed the sentence in federal district court, and the record states that during the hearing she emphasized the serious nature of Dookhan's crimes and the need to protect the public as reasons for the lengthy sentence. Dookhan remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshal. The same record states that while working as a security guard in an elementary school in New York, Dookhan targeted an eleven-year-old victim online, first meeting her on Roblox, an online gaming platform, then moving the conversation to a messaging application designed to delete messages. He coerced the victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he could produce photographs and videos of her. Investigators determined that Dookhan solicited many sexually explicit photographs and videos from his eleven-year-old victim, with the conduct spanning multiple weeks. U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey, quoted in the announcement, said he was satisfied with the sentence: "Dookhan deserved this sentence from Chief Judge Jarbou. Anyone who sexually exploits children deserves a lengthy sentence. I hope this sentence shows that if someone exploits children in the Western District of Michigan, we will respond decisively and argue for the maximum sentence possible, which Dookhan received." HSI Detroit Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Pierczynski said in the announcement that "[c]hildren deserve to be safe online, including when playing games and connecting with others," adding that online predators "exploit trust, anonymity and access to target children." He called it "appalling when someone trusted to protect students abuses that position to prey on them." Homeland Security Investigations and the Michigan State Police investigated the case, according to the record. It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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Revision history

  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 16:26current

    First published.

  2. Version 115 Aug 2026, 16:13current

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  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 16:28current

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