Texas Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Producing Child Porn
ABILENE, Texas — An Abilene man previously convicted of sexually exploiting minors in Arizona has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison after admitting to producing child pornography involving a 13-year-old victim, federal officials announced.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, Kai Isaiah Ranaglia-Nelson, 25, pleaded guilty in January 2026 to production of child pornography after being indicted in December 2025.
U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr sentenced Ranaglia-Nelson to 600 months, or 50 years, in federal prison.
Prior Convictions in Arizona
Federal prosecutors said Ranaglia-Nelson had previously pleaded guilty in Arizona in 2020 to:
- Two counts of sexual extortion
- One count of sexual exploitation of a minor
Authorities said the earlier case involved grooming and exploiting multiple children.
Despite receiving a five-year prison sentence and being released under supervision in 2023, investigators said he resumed targeting children shortly after his release.
Investigation Part of Nationwide Operation
According to prosecutors, law enforcement identified Ranaglia-Nelson in late 2025 during Operation Relentless Justice, a nationwide initiative targeting online child predators.
Investigators said Ranaglia-Nelson used Snap Inc.’s Snapchat platform to allegedly entice and coerce a 13-year-old child into producing and sending sexually explicit videos.
Federal officials said the coordinated operation involved:
- All 56 FBI field offices
- The Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section
- U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide
The operation resulted in:
- More than 205 child victims located
- More than 293 suspected child exploitation offenders arrested
Ryan Raybould said the lengthy sentence sends a strong message to offenders targeting children.
“Despite previously being convicted of sexually extorting minors, the defendant preyed on young kids to coax them into producing and sending him child pornography,” Raybould said. “The Judge sent an unshakable message to the community: if you prey on North Texas kids, you will go to federal prison for a very long time.”
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Dallas Field Office, the Abilene Police Department, and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney James prosecuted the case.
