Harford County detective accused of sexually abusing children in Carroll County
BALTIMORE -- A detective with the Harford County Sheriff's Office is facing charges for allegedly sexually abusing two young children in Carroll County, according to police.
Ryan Christopher Hall, 50, faces two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of continuing course of conduct with a child, 10 counts of child pornography filming in sex act, and other charges.
Hall is a senior deputy detective who has worked for the Harford County Sheriff's Office for 27 years and was assigned to the Domestic Violence Unit.
Hall waived his bail review on Wednesday and the case will go before a grand jury.
Officials said Hall's law enforcement powers were suspended with pay when they learned about the investigation. Once arrested, the Harford County Sheriff's Office suspended his police powers without pay.
"We hold our agency members to the highest standard of integrity," Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said. "Any abuse of power or breach of public trust is taken very seriously. I find it both personally and professionally disappointing that someone within our ranks would break that trust and be accused of such heinous acts and crimes. My thoughts go out to the victims in this case. I hope they are able to begin the long healing process now that these charges have been filed."
Accusations against Hall
Carroll County detectives learned Hall started possessing child sex abuse photos and videos of the young children roughly 15 years.
Detectives spoke with the victims who say Hall began abusing them when they were about 10 years old, according to police. They told detectives Hall would remove their clothes and inappropriately touch them, police said.
One victim recalls hearing a camera shutter during the abuse.
"Information that we have at this point indicates that it may have started as early as 2009 with the defendant's interest in materials of this sort," Giller said.
A camera found under a bathroom baseboard heater on October 7 uncovered years of child sex abuse material, according to police.
"That camera was hooked up to other devices, and based on that information, search and seizure warrants were conducted," said Seth Giller, the Special Victims Unit Chief with the Carroll County State's Attorney's Office.
Hall confessed to installing cameras inside a bedroom and bathroom of a home used to produce child pornography, "because I have a problem," according to the police report. Detectives said they recovered photos and video of the two abuse victims.
According to charging documents, Hall possessed thousands of images and videos of child pornography.
"We are waiting for further investigation to work on the possibility of more things being recovered," Giller said.
Anyone with additional information pertaining to this case is asked to contact Detective Jacob Street at the Carroll County Advocacy and Investigation Center at 410-386-3640.
