A 29-year-old Woodstock man accused of taking sexually explicit photos of an autistic teen and downloading hundreds of child pornography files has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Authorities said Ryan Harding worked with an organization that provides services to people with disabilities and took pornographic photos of a 13-year-old autistic boy involved in the group.
According to federal prosecutors, Harding drove the teen to a convenience store on Oct. 14, 2013 and took sexually explicit photos of him in the bathroom.
The organization has not been identified by name, but federal officials said Harding had unsupervised access to autistic boys, some of whom are nonverbal, for hours on end.
Harding was arrested on federal charges in November 2013 after authorities found 1,043 photos and 144 videos depicting child pornography on his laptop and thumb drive, prosecutors said after his arrest.
According to the U.S. attorney's office, Harding downloaded the files between July and October 2013. Harding told investigators child pornography sexually arouses him.
Since his arrest, Harding has been released on bond and placed on home confinement with GPS monitoring, federal prosecutors said.
Harding pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
He’ll be sentenced March 13, 2015 and could face between five and 30 years in prison, along with a $250,000 fine.
