California Man Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography and Transferring Obscene Material to a Minor

Devin Ravine a/k/a "Derek Johnson," age 21, of Riverside, California, was sentenced on October 22, 2026 by United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci to 78 months of imprisonment, followed by 5 years of supervised release, for receiving child pornography and transferring obscene material to a minor. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement.

As part of his previous guilty plea, the defendant admitted that he contacted a 15-year-old child on a dating application, sent her pictures of his erect penis, and then directed her to produce sexually explicit video files. The victim complied, ultimately sending him a sexually explicit video of herself. The victim came forward to law enforcement after FBI agents visited her school, which is located in the Capital Region, as part of its ongoing efforts to educate students about internet safety and sextortion.

First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III said: "This predator abused a 15-year-old girl in the Northern District of New York and was charged federally and brought back from California to face justice. Had this predator been released to the California state courts, he would have likely been given a slap on the wrist. This office has zero tolerance for child predators and abusers. This defendant will be the guest of the federal penitentiary for the next 6 plus years. I would like to commend the great investigative work of our FBI Albany Field office and the leadership of that office for bringing this case to light."

"Today, our thoughts are with the brave student who heard our message, recognized what was happening to her, and reported it to our team," said Craig Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albany Field Office. "We responded with the full of weight of the FBI and our incredible partnerships, and now Mr. Ravine is heading to federal prison for the next six and a half years. The FBI is deeply committed to continuing these conversations with our communities, and this investigation should prove just how quickly we will respond when someone comes forward. No matter where the predator is located, our Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force will use every resource necessary to track them down and send them to prison."

The FBI investigated the case with assistance from the FBI Riverside Field Office, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, and the Riverside County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Belliss prosecuted the case.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.