UPDATE: Goshen County Men Sentenced for Child Pornography Crimes

This story has been updated with information from a press release from the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office on Friday afternoon.

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Two Goshen County men were sentenced for child pornography crimes in federal court in April, according to court records.

Besides imprisonment, Terry Gene Patch and Rily Shawn Ralls  must pay tens of thousands of dollars in restitution.

Patch and Ralls were named together in the indictment handed up by the federal grand jury on Sept. 20.

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Alan Johnson sentenced Patch, 35, to three years, four months in prison on one count of possession of child pornography.

Another count, distribution of child pornography, was dismissed by the prosecution as part of Patch's plea agreement in February.

As part of the sentence, Patch will be on supervised probation for five years after he is released from custody, pay a $100 special assessment and $66,000 in restitution.

Neither the Wyoming U.S. Attorney's Office nor court records say what the restitution is for or why it so high for Patch and co-defendant Ralls

Johnson sentenced 47-year-old Ralls on April 7 to five years, three months for one count of possession of child pornography.

Johnson also ordered Ralls to be on supervised probation for five years after his release from custody, pay a $100 special assessment, and pay $18,000 in restitution.

Ralls pleaded guilty to the charge in January.

The judgments in the cases say both defendants must register as sex offenders, undergo sex-offense evaluation and treatment, have electronic devices monitored by a U.S. probation officer, not have unsupervised contact with minors without permission from a probation officer and a parent or guardian, participate in a cognitive-behavioral treatment program, and follow other requirements.

In March 2022, Patch and Ralls came to the attention of the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after Google sent cyber tips to the Task Force.

Agents determined that Patch and Ralls lived in the same residence and had downloaded images and videos of child pornography.

Investigators identified email addresses, unique Uniform Resource Locators (URL -- the address of a webpage), and mobile phone numbers tied to Patch and Ralls that were used in viewing and downloading child pornography.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol assisted the DCI's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christyne Martens prosecuted the case.

The government regards child pornography as a crime of violence because it involves brutal assaults on very young children who cannot give consent to sexual activity.