Ryan Christopher Hall

Sources

1. Harford Sheriff's detective admits to installing hidden cameras, sexually abusing children, WMAR 2 Baltimore, October 24, 2024.
2. Case Detail - Circuit Court For Carroll County - Criminal - Case Number: C-06-CR-24-000737, Maryland Judiciary Case Search, March 4, 2025.
3. Feds indict former Harford County Sheriff's Detective accused of hiding cameras, taping sexual abuse, WMAR 2 News, March 13, 2025.
4. Former Harford County Sheriff’s Office Detective Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Two Children, Unites States Attorney's Office District of Maryland, December 8, 2025.

• 1. Harford Sheriff's detective admits to installing hidden cameras, sexually abusing children

  • 20241024
  • News article
  • WMAR 2 Baltimore

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  WOODBINE, Md. — A veteran Harford County Sheriff's deputy faces a slew of child sex abuse charges.

  Ryan Christopher Hall, 50, was arrested Tuesday, after a now 22-year-old family member found a camera hidden inside the vent of their home bathroom in Woodbine.

  The 27-year detective was assigned to the Harford Sheriff's Domestic Violence Unit, but is now suspended without pay.

  Carroll County prosecutors say they recovered more than 1,000 sexually explicit files of two victims related to Hall, some dating back to 2012, when they were underage.

  Hall reportedly admitted to personally installing the cameras inside the bathroom.

  "I did put [the cameras] there because I have a problem," Hall told investigators, according to charging documents.

  He confessed to watching child porn since 2008.

  Other files seized by police depicted random girls as young as 4-years-old, who have no relation to Hall.

  The one victim who first discovered the bathroom camera, recalled Hall sexually abusing them when they were between 10 and 12-years old.

  "One of these incidents lasted so long that she remembers a movie starting and ending prior to him ending the abuse," detectives wrote in charging documents.

  The second victim, who is now 21, also remembered being abused by Hall starting at age 10.

  "When I asked Ryan about this, he acknowledged that it happened," investigators wrote in charging documents.

  Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler reacted to the disturbing allegations by issuing this statement.

  "At this time, we have no information that these crimes were committed with the use of HCSO equipment or during the course of Hall’s on duty hours," said Gahler. "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."

• 2. Case Detail - Circuit Court For Carroll County - Criminal - Case Number: C-06-CR-24-000737

  • 20250304
  • Court record
  • Maryland Judiciary Case Search

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  Case Detail
  Case Information
  Court System: Circuit Court For Carroll County - Criminal
  Location: Carroll Circuit Court
  Case Number: C-06-CR-24-000737
  Title: State of Maryland vs. Ryan C Hall
  Case Type: Criminal Indictment
  Filing Date: 11/07/2024
  Case Status: Open
  Tracking Number(s): 240000005302
  Other Reference Numbers
  Forwarded to Circuit Court: D-102-CR-24-001895
  Defendant Information
  Defendant
  Name: Hall, Ryan C
  Race: White Sex: Male Height: 6'0" Weight: 195
  HairColor: Brown EyeColor: Blue
  DOB: [xx/xx]/1974
  Address: [redacted by FLOODLIT]
  City: ELKTON State: MD Zip Code: 21921

  Attorney(s) for the Defendant
  Name: MURTHA, JOSEPH
  Appearance Date: 12/03/2024
  Address Line 1: Rice, Murtha & Psoras, LLC
  Address Line 2: 1301 YORK RD STE 200
  City: LUTHERVILLE State: MD Zip Code: 21093

  Involved Parties Information
  Plaintiff
  Name: State of Maryland

  Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff
  Name: State's Attorney, Carroll County
  Appearance Date: 11/07/2024
  Address Line 1: 55 N. Court Street
  City: Westminster State: MD Zip Code: 21157

  Name: GILLER, SETH ADAM
  Appearance Date: 11/07/2024
  Address Line 1: Carroll County State's Attorney's Office
  Address Line 2: 55 North Court Street
  City: WESTMINSTER State: MD Zip Code: 21157

  Court Scheduling Information
  Event Type Event Date Event Time Judge Court Location Court Room Result
  Hearing - Initial Appearance 12/06/2024 08:45:00 Carroll County Circuit Court CancelledReason: Cancelled/Vacated
  Conference - Status 02/05/2025 13:15:00 DeLeonardo, Brian Carroll County Circuit Court Courtroom 1 - Historic - 2nd Floor CancelledReason: Postponed/Reset
  Conference - Status 03/25/2025 13:15:00 DeLeonardo, Brian Carroll County Circuit Court
  Charge and Disposition Information
  Charge No: 1 CJIS Code: 1-0322 Statute Code: CR.3.602.(b)(1)
  Charge Description: SEX ABUSE MINOR Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 01/01/2013 To: 07/22/2016
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 2 CJIS Code: 2-1136 Statute Code: CR.3.315
  Charge Description: SEX ABUSE MNR/CONT COURSE CONDCT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 01/01/2013 To: 07/22/2016
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 3 CJIS Code: 1-0322 Statute Code: CR.3.602.(b)(1)
  Charge Description: SEX ABUSE MINOR Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 01/01/2010 To: 10/26/2015
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 4 CJIS Code: 2-1136 Statute Code: CR.3.315
  Charge Description: SEX ABUSE MNR/CONT COURSE CONDCT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 01/01/2010 To: 10/26/2015
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 5 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 01/03/2012 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 6 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 04/20/2020 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 7 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 04/21/2020 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 8 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 12/09/2020 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 9 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 06/03/2018 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 10 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 05/29/2018 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 11 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 01/12/2020 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 12 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 05/29/2018 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 13 CJIS Code: 1-0299 Statute Code: CR.11.207.(a)(2)(3)
  Charge Description: CHILD PORN FILM IN SEX ACT Charge Class: Felony Circuit Court
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 05/05/2020 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 14 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 15 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 16 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 17 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 18 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 19 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 20 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 21 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 22 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 23 CJIS Code: 1-1756 Statute Code: CR 11 208
  Charge Description: Possess Child Pornography Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/07/2024 To:
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 24 CJIS Code: 1-1760 Statute Code: CR.3.902.(c)(2)
  Charge Description: VIS SURV - PRIVATE AREA Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/08/2023 To: 10/07/2024
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Charge No: 25 CJIS Code: 1-1760 Statute Code: CR.3.902.(c)(2)
  Charge Description: VIS SURV - PRIVATE AREA Charge Class: Misdemeanor
  Probable Cause:
  Offense Date From: 10/08/2023 To: 10/07/2024
  Agency Name: Officer ID:
  Bond Setting Information
  Bail Date: 10/23/2024
  Bail Setting Type: Hold Without Bond
  Bail Amount: $0.00
  Judge: Danz, Erin
  Document Information
  File Date: 10/22/2024
  Document Name: Statement of Charges
  File Date: 10/23/2024
  Document Name: Bail Review Summary
  File Date: 10/23/2024
  Document Name: Bail Set
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Criminal Indictment
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Hearing Sheet
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Correspondence
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Summons Issued (Service Event)
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Criminal Notice of Hearing / Trial
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Writ /Summons/Pleading - Electronic Service
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: Writ - Habeas Corpus
  File Date: 11/07/2024
  Document Name: District Court Transmittal Received
  File Date: 11/12/2024
  Document Name: Return of Service - Served
  File Date: 11/18/2024
  Document Name: Crime Victim Certificate of Compliance
  File Date: 11/18/2024
  Document Name: Crime Victim Certificate of Compliance
  File Date: 12/02/2024
  Document Name: Defense Attorney Appearance Filed
  File Date: 12/02/2024
  Document Name: Motion / Request / Demand for Discovery and Inspection
  File Date: 12/02/2024
  Document Name: Motion - MD Rule 4-252 (Motions)
  File Date: 12/02/2024
  Document Name: Motion to Extend Time
  File Date: 12/05/2024
  Document Name: Criminal Notice of Hearing / Trial
  File Date: 12/05/2024
  Document Name: Writ - Habeas Corpus
  File Date: 12/05/2024
  Document Name: Writ /Summons/Pleading - Electronic Service
  File Date: 12/05/2024
  Document Name: Writ /Summons/Pleading - Electronic Service
  File Date: 12/16/2024
  Document Name: Discovery Pursuant to Rule 4-263
  File Date: 01/31/2025
  Document Name: Motion / Request - To Continue / Postpone
  File Date: 01/31/2025
  Document Name: Waiver of Hick's Rule
  File Date: 02/03/2025
  Document Name: Order/Rul - Postponement/Continuance - Granted
  File Date: 02/03/2025
  Document Name: Writ /Summons/Pleading - Electronic Service
  File Date: 02/03/2025
  Document Name: Criminal Notice of Hearing / Trial
  File Date: 02/03/2025
  Document Name: Writ - Habeas Corpus
  File Date: 02/03/2025
  Document Name: Writ /Summons/Pleading - Electronic Service
  File Date: 02/03/2025
  Document Name: Writ /Summons/Pleading - Electronic Service
  Service Information
  Service Type Issued Date
  Summons Issued 11/07/2024
  This is an electronic case record. Full case information cannot be made available either because of legal restrictions on access to case records found in Maryland Rules, or because of the practical difficulties inherent in reducing a case record into an electronic format.

• 3. Feds indict former Harford County Sheriff's Detective accused of hiding cameras, taping sexual abuse

  • 20250313
  • News article
  • WMAR 2 News

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  BALTIMORE — A federal grand jury indicted a former Harford County Sheriff's detective on 10 counts of alleged sexual child abuse.

  Ryan Christopher Hall, 50 of Woodstock, was initially hit with state charges last October.

  Carroll County prosecutors, at the time, said they recovered more than 1,000 sexually explicit files of two children related to Hall, some dating as far back to 2012 when they were underage.

  Hall, who spent 27-years with the Sheriff's Office, and was last assigned to their Domestic Violence Unit, reportedly admitted to personally installing the cameras inside his home bathroom.

  "I did put [the cameras] there because I have a problem," Hall told investigators, according to state charging documents.

  The federal indictment, however, specifically involves six different videos between 2017 and 2021.

  Both victims are now in their 20s.

  The one who first discovered the bathroom camera, recalled Hall sexually abusing them between the ages of 10 and 12-years old.

  RELATED: Harford Sheriff's detective admits to installing hidden cameras, sexually abusing children

  "One of these incidents lasted so long that she remembers a movie starting and ending prior to him ending the abuse," detectives wrote in charging documents.

  The second victim also remembered Hall abusing them starting at age 10.

  "When I asked Ryan about this, he acknowledged that it happened," investigators wrote in charging documents.
  Ryan Christopher Hall
  Carroll County Sheriff's Office
  Ryan Christopher Hall

  Other files seized by police depicted random girls as young as 4-years-old, unrelated to Hall.

  Police noted that Hall confessed to watching child porn since 2008.

  Hall is due in federal court on March 19. If convicted, he faces a mandatory 15-year minimum and 30-year maximum prison sentence for each count.

• 4. Former Harford County Sheriff’s Office Detective Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Two Children

  • 20251208
  • Website
  • Unites States Attorney's Office District of Maryland

  • original
  • archived
  • back to list

  Baltimore, Maryland – Ryan Christopher Hall, 50, of Woodstock, Maryland, pled guilty today, to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sexual abuse material charges in federal court. Hall is a former domestic violence detective who served 27 years with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

  Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Baltimore; Carroll County State’s Attorney Haven N. Shoemaker, Jr.; Sheriff James T. DeWees, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office; and Sheriff Jeff Gahler, Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

  According to court documents, from May 2017 thru October 2024, Hall sexually abused two minor children. Authorities discovered that Hall installed cameras to produce child sexual abuse material and possessed child sexual abuse material. Additionally, Hall is facing related charges for child sexual abuse in the Carroll County Circuit Court.

  Hall faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and a maximum sentence of 30 years, in federal prison for each count of sexual exploitation of a child. He also is subject to lifetime supervised release and lifetime registration as a sex offender. U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson scheduled sentencing for Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 2 p.m.

  This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc. Learn more about Internet safety education by clicking on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

  Know2Protect is a Department of Homeland Security national public awareness campaign to educate and empower children, teens, parents, trusted adults and policymakers to prevent and combat online child sexual exploitation and abuse
  ; explain how to report online enticement and victimization; and offer resources for victims and survivors and their supporters. Learn more about Know2Protect at www.dhs.gov/know2protect

  .

  U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI, the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office Special Victims Unit, and Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Crimes Against Children Unit for their combined effort and work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn who is prosecuting the federal case.

  For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.