HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that a federal jury today convicted Darren Patrick Riley, 45, of Honolulu, Hawaii, of 12 counts related to his trafficking and sexual exploitation of five minor boys in Oahu in 2019 and 2020.

According to evidence presented at trial, Riley used the app, Grindr, to meet the minors who ranged from 14 to 16 years old.  After beginning the conversation with the victims on Grindr, Riley then arranged sexual encounters with them, enticing them with money, electronics, or drugs.  Riley then engaged in a pattern of systematic sexual abuse, which included filming and later distributing videos he took of their sexual acts.  In one video, Riley directed one of his victims to announce that he was 14 years old, his age at the time.  Riley abused his victims in multiple locations, including his apartment, car, at the beach, and hotel rooms that Riley paid for.  On one day, Riley abused two victims during separate assaults in the same hotel room.

Riley knowingly took advantage of his victims’ financial needs.  For example, one victim was struggling to afford consistent meals, and another was saving money because he feared being expelled from his family home.  During his abuse, Riley provided controlled substances to several of his victims.  After Riley provided one victim MDMA and other pills, the victim described drifting in and out of consciousness while Riley abused him.  Multiple victims tried to refuse Riley’s sexual advances, but Riley persisted.  Riley’s crimes were finally uncovered when he was arrested by DEA at the Los Angeles airport for attempting to traffic methamphetamine into Hawaii.  A search of his phone revealed a collection of child sexual abuse material, which prompted his charges.

“This verdict is the next step to holding Darren Riley fully accountable for his egregious pattern of preying upon and abusing children,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We commend the victims who bravely testified at trial despite the trauma they endured from a serial predator. Their testimony, along with the good work of law enforcement and the prosecutors, exposed Riley’s horrific, repeated exploitation. The work of the jury now ensures that Riley will not be a threat to other children in the future. The Department of Justice will continue prosecuting offenders like Riley, as one of the Department’s highest callings is protecting America’s children.”

“Our community is safer now that a Hawaii federal jury has held the defendant accountable for his predatory crimes against children,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.  “The evidence at trial was overwhelming, and the courage the five young victims demonstrated in recounting for the jury their abuse at the hands of Riley was instrumental in putting this child predator behind bars.  We will continue to aggressively pursue, charge, and convict predators like Riley that victimize our children and threaten our families.”

“This verdict holds Darren Riley accountable for his egregious pattern of abusing minors in numerous ways,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  “Protecting children from predators such as Riley is a top priority of the U.S. Department of Justice.  The victims who bravely testified in this trial described his outrageous pattern of exploitation, which included enticing vulnerable children with money and drugs, filming himself engaging in sex acts with them, and drugging them to incapacitation with or without their knowledge.  We will stop at nothing to hold accountable anyone who preys on our children.”

“The defendant’s heinous acts and repetitive exploitation of victims were put to an end with this verdict,” said FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge David Porter.  “This is the direct result of the relentless work of our agents and partners to protect the children in our communities.  There is no corner of the internet or crevice on the globe where these predators can hide, as the FBI will use every resource at its disposal to bring them to justice.”

The court has not set Riley’s sentencing yet. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison on particular charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

FBI Honolulu and Los Angeles investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Perlmutter and Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.