Man Gets 74-100 Years for Child Porn, Sexually Abusing Grandkids

A 49-year-old Wamsutter man will serve the next 74 to 100 years in prison after pleading guilty to 58 child pornography and sexual abuse charges, the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office announced Monday.

According to Deputy Jason Mower, authorities began investigating Russell Jay Byrne nearly two years ago after receiving a series of anonymous tips about his alleged activity.

"Investigators soon learned that Byrne was using a number of different social media platforms to access and distribute child pornography online," Mower said in a media release.

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They also discovered that Byrne was sexually abusing three of his grandkids -- ages 2, 3, and 8 -- recording it, and distributing some of those recordings as part of his growing collection of child pornography.

Mower says Byrne was safely detained without incident after being lured to a location during an undercover operation in or around November of 2021.

"(Officers) then served multiple search warrants to secure a laundry list of electronic and forensic evidence crucial to the successful prosecution of the case before also shutting down Byrne's child pornography operation," he said.

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