SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted Bryan Petersen and Ryan Michael Spencer yesterday with conspiracy to distribute and receive child pornography, distribution of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Brian Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.
According to the papers filed publicly in the case, the FBI began investigating Petersen, 24, of Tiburon, after a witness reported to law enforcement that Petersen had child pornography on his computer and in a Dropbox account. After executing a search warrant at Petersen’s residence, the FBI learned that Petersen had allegedly received thousands of images and videos containing child pornography from Spencer, 19, of Aptos. The FBI also learned that the two men worked with children—Petersen as a babysitter, chess coach, and tutor in Tiburon and Spencer as a babysitter, camp counselor, and teacher-in-training in Aptos—and that they had allegedly been taking and exchanging lascivious photographs of children entrusted to their care.
Petersen was arrested on April 26, 2017, and Spencer was arrested the following day. Each defendant was charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute and receive child pornography.
