GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A former Sparta councilman who took pictures of himself having sex with a teen girl was sentenced Thursday to more than 15 years in federal prison for sexual exploitation of a minor.
Ryan James Hayes admitted to using a cellphone to take photographs of the 16-year-old performing oral sex on him.
Hayes, 35, became involved in the illegal conduct “solely for sexual gratification, and no other gain,’’ defense attorney Heath M. Lynch wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Hayes was appointed to the Sparta Village Council in February of 2018. He resigned in late October after criminal charges were filed.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet T. Neff on Thursday also ordered that Hayes serve five years on supervised release once he gets out of prison and pay a $5,100 special assessment.
“Mr. Hayes is filled with remorse and regret concerning his criminal conduct, which has cost him nearly everything he has – his job, his position on the Sparta Village Council, his standing in the community and possibly the home he saved for and purchased,’’ Lynch wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Hayes pleaded guilty in April to sexual exploitation of a minor, which is punishable by a minimum of 15 years, and up to 30 years, in prison. In exchange for his plea, a second charge of attempted coercion and enticement was dismissed.
That charge accused him of trying to coerce someone he believed to be a 14-year-old girl to engage in sex acts with him. The 14-year-old girl named ‘Liv’ was actually a Kent County Sheriff’s Department deputy working undercover.
“During the first day of communication, Hayes steered the conversation to sexual topics and discussed meeting ‘Liv’ for a date that would include sex,’’ investigators wrote in a probable cause affidavit.
Hayes was arrested when he arrived at Huff Park in Grand Rapids to meet the fictitious girl. He initially faced two state charges, including accosting a child for immoral purposes.
As part of the investigation, police searched his cellphone. That's when they discovered sexually explicit photos involving the 16-year-old girl. State charges were set aside when more serious federal charges were filed in late November.
Hayes, who has an associate’s degree in computer science, “wants to do everything possible to ensure he never becomes involved in the justice system again,’’ Lynch wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
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