Marshall County Man Sentenced For Child Pornography Offense

Friday, June 20, 2025, 7:00 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

WHEELING, W.VA.- A 34-year-old Benwood, West Virginia, man, and convicted sex offender will be spending the next decade in federal prison after being sentenced on Wednesday in Federal Court in Wheeling, West Virginia, for possessing hundreds of digital images depicting the sexual exploitation of young teen girls.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard, on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, Ryan Bobby Schnettler, 34, of Benwood, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge John Preston Bailey to 120 months in federal prison, to be followed by ten years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Possession of Child Pornography.

According To Charging Documents Filed With The Court

     According to charging documents filed with the District Court, Schnettler, who was on federal supervised release for a prior child pornography charge. During an unannounced home visit by members of the U.S. Probation Department, Officers discovered three undocumented cellular phones. During a subsequent search of the phones, Probation Officers uncovered hundreds of digital images of underage girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct, as well as evidence of instant messaging chats with underage girls.

     During his previous plea allocution, Schnettler admitted that he portrayed himself as a 17-year-old within the chat rooms and children’s websites.

     In handing down the sentence on Wednesday, Judge Bailey noted Schnettler’s prior criminal history, which included prior convictions for second-degree sexual assault, failure to register as a sex offender, and possession of child pornography.