United States of America v. Ryan Patrick Garrett

Knoxville, Tennessee criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with attempted enticement.

on March 13, 2025, detectives with the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) and agents of the United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested 41-year-old Ryan Patrick Garrett on a federal complaint of Enticement of a minor for the purposes of an illegal sexual act. Garrett was arrested after an investigation conducted by the Tennessee Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force revealed that Garrett was making plans to meet at a location in Knoxville to engage in sexual activities with a nine-year-old and twelve-year-old. KPD Detectives and HSI Special Agents took Garrett into custody after he arrived to meet the children.

U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee made the announcement.

The arrest and criminal indictment was the result of an investigation by KPD, the lead agency of the Tennessee ICAC Task Force which is a partnership of 74 state and local law enforcement agencies. The TN ICAC Task Force operates under a grant from the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The investigation was led by HSI KPD ICAC Task Force Officer Tom Evans.

Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Kolman represented the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

The Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to a total term of imprisonment of 120 months, a term of supervised release of 30 years, a special assessment fee of $100.00.