Kai Isaiah Ranaglia-Nelson, a 25-year-old registered sex offender from Abilene, was sentenced yesterday to 50 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.
U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr handed down the 600-month sentence after Ranaglia-Nelson pleaded guilty in January 2026 to Production of Child Pornography, following his indictment in December 2025.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould emphasized the severity of the sentence, saying, “Despite previously being convicted of sexually extorting minors, the defendant preyed on young kids to coax them into producing and sending him child pornography. In the Northern District of Texas we will make sure that these criminals get ejected from the community and sit in federal prison for as long as possible under the law. The Judge sent an unshakable message to the community: if you prey on North Texas kids, you will go to federal prison for a very long time.”
Nelson had a history of similar offenses, pleading guilty in 2020 in Arizona to sexual extortion and exploitation of a minor, for which he received a five-year prison sentence. Despite being released on supervision in 2023, he quickly resumed exploiting children.
His recent arrest came in late 2025 as part of "Operation Relentless Justice," a nationwide crackdown that identified Ranaglia-Nelson using Snapchat to coerce a 13-year-old into producing explicit videos. This operation led to over 205 child victims located and 293 child sexual abuse offenders arrested across the country.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Dallas Field Office (Abilene RA), the Abilene Police Department, and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney James prosecuting the case. These efforts are part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative combating child sexual exploitation and abuse.