Ronald Eric Ary, Robert Eugene Sanders Sentenced in Child Porn Cases

FORT WORTH, Texas — Two men were handed 30-year federal prison sentences in separate, chilling child pornography cases that laid bare the depths of sexual exploitation in North Texas. Ronald Eric Ary, 55, of Erath County, and Robert Eugene Sanders, 74, of Hood County, were both convicted earlier this year on federal charges, with their crimes spanning years and involving the most vulnerable victims imaginable.

Ronald Eric Ary was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor to 360 months in prison after pleading guilty in September 2016 to one count of distributing child pornography. Ary admitted to using the internet and an instant messaging application to trade and distribute graphic material, including a video depicting an infant child in sexually explicit conduct with an adult male. The FBI and Erath County Sheriff’s Office led the investigation, with Ary having been in federal custody since his arrest in July 2016.

Just days earlier, on December 30, 2016, Robert Eugene Sanders received the same 360-month sentence from U.S. District Judge John McBryde. Sanders, also of North Texas, pleaded guilty in July 2016 to one count of production of child pornography. Authorities say that in August 2011, he knowingly persuaded, induced, and used two prepubescent girls to engage in sexually explicit conduct, which he then photographed. Sanders has been in custody since his arrest in May 2016.

In addition to his prison term, Sanders was fined $10,000 and ordered to pay nearly $65,000 in restitution to the victims. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Keller Police Department, and the Hood County Sheriff’s Office—a multi-agency effort that underscores the coordinated crackdown on child exploitation.

Both cases were prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the rising tide of child sexual abuse and exploitation. The program unites federal, state, and local law enforcement to locate offenders, rescue victims, and strengthen prosecutions. These sentences reflect the federal government’s zero-tolerance stance on crimes involving child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Saleem handled both prosecutions. As these cases show, the digital age has amplified the reach of predators—but also sharpened the tools to catch them. The message from Fort Worth is clear: those who produce or distribute child pornography will face decades behind bars, with no leniency and no escape.

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