Former Machias Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

Ryan Gatcomb, a former resident of Machias, Maine, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to one count of possessing child pornography.

The plea, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, covers Gatcomb's knowing possession of multiple images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the Department of Justice release dated May 15, 2026.

SCOPE Federal law defines the offense under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A. The materials involved real minors under the age of 18. The Justice Department did not release the exact number of files in the public charging document, but possession cases routinely involve hundreds or thousands of images and videos recovered from computers, hard drives or cloud accounts.

WHAT IT CHANGES Gatcomb's guilty plea replaces the prior not-guilty posture and eliminates the need for a trial on the possession charge. Sentencing now moves forward under federal guidelines that set a base offense level for possession of child pornography, with potential enhancements for the number of images, use of a computer, and any prior criminal history.

The court must impose a term of supervised release of at least five years and up to life following any prison sentence. Registration under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act becomes mandatory upon conviction.

WHY IT MATTERS DOWNSTREAM Sentencing is scheduled for a future date set by the court; the judge must calculate the advisory guidelines range and consider the statutory mandatory minimums that apply to certain child-pornography offenses. Probation officers will prepare a presentence investigation report that feeds directly into the Bureau of Prisons classification once a sentence is imposed.

If Gatcomb receives a term of imprisonment, he will be required to serve at least 85 percent of that sentence under federal rules before release to supervision. The conviction also bars him from possessing firearms for life and triggers forfeiture of any devices used to store the illegal material.

Federal prosecutors may pursue additional asset forfeitures tied to the offense.

CONTEXT The case is one of dozens of child-pornography possession prosecutions handled each year by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine. The plea follows standard federal investigative steps that typically begin with tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, followed by law-enforcement search warrants and forensic analysis of digital devices.

The Department of Justice has pursued such cases under both Republican and Democratic administrations as part of its ongoing Project Safe Childhood initiative, which coordinates federal, state and local efforts to combat online exploitation of children.

Gatcomb remains free pending sentencing under conditions set by the court.