Devin Ravine
Introduction
Devin Ravine, also known as “Derek Johnson,” is a 21-year-old man from Riverside, California, who was sentenced on October 22, 2026, to 78 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for receiving child sexual abuse material and transferring obscene material to a minor. The case began when the 15-year-old girl he was exploiting came forward to law enforcement after FBI agents visited her Capital Region school as part of its internet-safety and sextortion education efforts. United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci imposed the sentence in the Northern District of New York.
Background Information
As part of his guilty plea, Ravine admitted that he contacted a 15-year-old child on a dating application, sent her pictures of his erect penis, and then directed her to produce sexually explicit video files. The victim complied, ultimately sending him a sexually explicit video of herself. She came forward to law enforcement after FBI agents visited her school, located in New York’s Capital Region, as part of the bureau’s ongoing efforts to educate students about internet safety and sextortion — a classroom outreach session that put the words for what was happening to her within reach.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Convicted and sentenced. Ravine pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and transferring obscene material to a minor and was sentenced on October 22, 2026, to 78 months in prison plus five years of supervised release.
The offense ran across state lines in both directions: a California man finding a 15-year-old in upstate New York through a dating app, sending her obscene images, and directing her to produce explicit video of herself — then receiving the results. The conduct fit the sextortion pattern the FBI’s school program was built to interrupt, and the interruption is what made the case: the victim recognized her situation from the agents’ presentation and reported it.
Federal prosecutors brought the case in New York rather than leaving it to California state courts. First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said at the announcement, “This predator abused a 15-year-old girl in the Northern District of New York and was charged federally and brought back from California to face justice. Had this predator been released to the California state courts, he would have likely been given a slap on the wrist. This office has zero tolerance for child predators and abusers. This defendant will be the guest of the federal penitentiary for the next 6 plus years.”
Public Reaction and Consequences
FBI Albany Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli centered the victim in the announcement: “Today, our thoughts are with the brave student who heard our message, recognized what was happening to her, and reported it to our team. We responded with the full weight of the FBI and our incredible partnerships, and now Mr. Ravine is heading to federal prison for the next six and a half years.” The case stands as the office’s proof point for its school-based sextortion education — the program visit directly produced the report that produced the prosecution.
For Ravine, the consequences are a six-and-a-half-year federal sentence, five years of supervised release afterward, and a sex-offense conviction record for receiving child sexual abuse material and transferring obscene material to a minor. No public statement from Ravine or his defense is recorded in the announcement.
Current Status
Ravine, 21, is serving a 78-month sentence imposed October 22, 2026, by Judge Anne M. Nardacci, to be followed by five years of supervised release, after admitting in his plea to contacting the 15-year-old, sending her obscene images, and directing her to produce the video the government charged him with receiving. The release does not state a designated facility, restitution, or registration terms beyond the supervised-release term.
Impact on Their Career/Life
At 21, Ravine’s exploitation of a 15-year-old girl — undertaken under a false name, “Derek Johnson,” on a dating app — has cost him the remainder of his twenties in federal prison and his thirties under supervision. The sentence also carries the record of how the case broke: not through his own slip, but because a school-visit presentation by FBI agents gave his victim the language to report what he had directed her to do. The Northern District of New York’s announcement makes that arc the case’s public lesson, with the prosecutor and the FBI agent in charge both crediting the student whose report put a California man in a New York federal courtroom.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of New York, “California Man Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography and Transferring Obscene Material to a Minor” — source