Texas repeat offender gets 50-year federal prison sentence for exploiting child on Snapchat

By
Published  May 21, 2026 1:33 PM CDT
FOX Local

Kai Isaiah Ranglia-Nelson (Source: Taylor County Jail)

The Brief

    • A 25-year-old Abilene man and registered sex offender was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.
    • Court documents show the defendant used Snapchat to coerce a 13-year-old victim, resuming his criminal behavior after a prior 2020 conviction for similar offenses.
    • The case stemmed from "Operation Relentless Justice," a two-week nationwide FBI initiative that resulted in over 293 arrests and located more than 205 victims.

ABILENE, Texas - A 25-year-old registered sex offender was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Federal prison sentence

Kai Isaiah Ranaglia-Nelson of Abilene was sentenced to the 600-month term by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr. Ranaglia-Nelson was indicted in December 2025 and pleaded guilty in January 2026 to production of child pornography.

According to court documents, Ranaglia-Nelson used Snapchat to entice and coerce a 13-year-old child into producing multiple sexually explicit videos.

"Despite previously being convicted of sexually extorting minors, the defendant preyed on young kids to coax them into producing and sending him child pornography," Ryan Raybould, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said in a statement. "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."

The backstory:

Authorities noted that Ranaglia-Nelson had a prior criminal history involving minors. In 2020, he pleaded guilty in Arizona to two counts of sexual extortion and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor after grooming and exploiting multiple children. He received a five-year prison sentence in that case and was released on supervision in 2023, after which authorities say he resumed exploiting children.

Ranaglia-Nelson was identified by law enforcement in late 2025 through "Operation Relentless Justice," a two-week nationwide crackdown aimed at identifying, tracking, and arresting child sex predators. The joint operation resulted in the arrests of more than 293 offenders and the location of over 205 child victims.

The local investigation was conducted by the FBI Dallas Field Office's Abilene Resident Agency, the Abilene Police Department, and the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney James prosecuted the case.

The prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse by mobilizing federal, state, and local law enforcement resources.

The Source: Information in this article is from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas.

TexasCrime and Public Safety