Louisville sex offender sentenced after forcing Monroe County girl to send sexual pictures over Snapchat

INDIANAPOLIS — A registered sex offender from Louisville, Kentucky, was recently sentenced to federal prison after he forced a 9-year-old from Monroe County to send sexually explicit images over Snapchat.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, 30-year-old Darren Ringenberg was convicted of two counts of sexual exploitation of a child while required to register as a sex offender. Ringenberg was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.

This comes after Ringenberg was previously convicted of 20 counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor in Kentucky in 2019. Because of this conviction, Ringenberg was required to register as a sex offender for life.

In June 2023, after he was released in relation to the Kentucky offense, Ringenberg communicated with the 9-year-old Monroe County girl via Snapchat. Under the username “devil_hell6969,” Ringenberg threatened to hack the girl’s social media accounts if she did not send him sexually explicit images and photos.

The release said that Ringenberg falsely claimed to be 16 years old and would screen-record and save the images and conversations without the child’s knowledge. After searching Ringenberg’s Snapchat account and his Louisville home, law enforcement found more sexual texts that he had with minors, as well as screen recordings of minors engaged in sexual conduct.

“Sex offenders often use manipulation and threats to sexually exploit children with utter disregard for the lasting trauma they inflict. I urge parents and guardians to talk to the children in their lives about what they’re doing online and make sure they have trusted adults they can turn to for help,” John E. Childress, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in the release. “I commend the FBI and the Bloomington Police Department for their work to seek justice for this victim and protect other children from this online predator.”