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A Georgia man was sentenced in federal court in Honolulu on Thursday to 21 years and 10 months in prison for engaging in sexually explicit conduct with minors and producing images and videos of that conduct during trips to Thailand, and transporting the child pornography into the United States.
Ronny Lee Waldrip, 64, of Douglasville, Ga., pleaded guilty Nov. 7 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard L. Puglisi to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor outside the United States for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct.
On Thursday, Senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor also ordered that he pay $45,000 in restitution.
Waldrip admitted that he traveled to Thailand on numerous occasions to engage in sexual conduct with minor females, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He also admitted that he traveled to Thailand in 2010 and 2011 for the purpose of inducing and enticing minors into engaging in sexual acts, and to photographing or recording such conduct without the victims’ knowledge or permission, federal prosecutors said.
On Feb. 13, 2012, he traveled from Bangkok to Honolulu transporting a laptop computer containing images and videos of child pornography, including videos of him engaging in sexual acts with minor females, who were 14 and 15 years old at the time, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Waldrip further admitted to using the Internet to distribute images and videos of three minor victims to another U.S. citizen.