Suvechha Sarkar
In May 2013, the quiet town of Belmont, New Hampshire, was shaken by a disturbing case revealing how dangerous online harassment can become. What initially appeared to be a set of troubling messages soon turned into cyberstalking and sextortion by a local resident, Ryan J. Vallee, leaving several teenage girls in fear. The case is revisited in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Web of Lies: I See You.’ It delves deeper into the technical details surrounding the case and how local law enforcement joined forces with the US Secret Service to arrest Ryan. The episode also features in-depth interviews with some of the women whose lives were affected and the officials who worked on the case.
Authorities Linked Ryan Vallee to the Case Through Phone Registration Data
Ryan J. Vallee was born sometime in 1994 and grew up in Belmont, New Hampshire. He attended Belmont High School and was reportedly known for his computer-savvy skills. According to one of his friends, he faced bullying from the 10th grade till his graduation from high school in 2012. Following that, Ryan began taking on several short-term roles. He soon came into the spotlight during the investigation regarding an online stalking and harassment case. It reportedly started in the Fall of 2011, when several Belmont High School girls began receiving text messages on Facebook and WhatsApp from a guy who used aliases such as Seth Williams and James McRow.
As per court records, although the texts were initially flirty, they soon turned disturbing as the sender began to ask the recipients for sexually explicit images. Investigative reports state that Seth began hacking into the teenage girls’ Facebook, Amazon, and college accounts and asking them for explicit pictures to get their accounts back. Court records suggest he reportedly threatened to release the pictures of the girls who had already given him the photographs he wanted. By the Spring of 2012, several of the affected recipients officially reported the crime.
During the initial phase of the investigation, the local authorities struggled to track the sender because his locations appeared to be spread across the country. In May 2012, the detective working on the case noticed that one of Seth’s text messages had been sent from an iPhone using the Text Free service, which allowed him to send messages from several numbers without an active phone plan. Police records indicate that officials eventually sought a subpoena from Apple, which revealed that the phone’s registration and billing were in the name of 19-year-old Ryan.
Ryan Was Arrested After a Location Ping Tied Him to the Online Harassment
Investigators reportedly first tracked down Ryan’s father’s address in Laconia but discovered that no one was living there. By May 2013, local law enforcement had teamed up with the Secret Service, after which Ryan’s mother was contacted in October 2013. According to reports, when he was brought into the station and interrogated, he denied knowing anything. He was arrested and charged with extortion. However, he was reportedly released on bail after he handed over all his technical devices, as per records. Official reports suggest that although the stalker’s online activity stopped for a while, it resumed when he logged into his Facebook account via publicly available internet connections.
According to investigative records, most of the online activity was tracked around the lake region of New Hampshire. A breakthrough arrived when authorities received a location ping from a condo complex in Gilford. Investigators reportedly surveilled the area and found Ryan leaving the complex. On July 17, 2015, an arrest warrant was issued for him. According to one of the officials on the show, authorities attempted to arrest Ryan during a red light, but he fled the scene in his vehicle. Ultimately, after an intense car chase, Ryan was reportedly taken into custody. Police records indicate that a search warrant was executed on Ryan’s car.
During the search, law enforcement reportedly discovered a backpack containing a Nintendo gaming console case, in which they uncovered a smartphone. Records suggest that digital forensic experts examined his phone, which revealed that he had searched “How to be fugitive in winter” and had been viewing Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). They reportedly also discovered explicit images of several teenage girls, who had reported the online stalking. Ryan was finally charged with 10 counts of making interstate threats. He was also indicted on seven counts each of aggravated identity theft and computer hacking to extort, alongside two counts of computer hacking to steal information.
Ryan is Serving a Second Sentence at a Federal Prison in New York Today
Following his arrest, Ryan Vallee was released on bail but was again taken into custody on March 16, 2016, when new allegations of online harassment were made against him. He avoided a jury trial by entering into a plea deal on August 25, 2016. He reportedly pleaded guilty to 31 counts, including 13 counts of making interstate threats and eight counts each of aggravated identity theft and computer hacking to extort. Furthermore, Ryan pleaded guilty to one count each of cyberstalking and computer hacking to steal information.
As per the plea agreement, Ryan admitted to using several techniques to pressurize the girls to cave into his sextortionate demands. On February 6, 2017, he was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison. After serving his sentence, he was released from federal custody on January 20, 2022. According to official documents, authorities executed a search warrant on his automobile, electronics, and home on June 6, 2024. Upon searching, they reportedly discovered several videos and images of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on his cellphone and SD card.
During that time, Ryan was out on supervised release, and due to violations, he was again taken into custody. Rather than opting for a jury trial, he entered into a plea deal in April 2025 by pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the production of child sexual abuse material. On August 18, 2025, he was sentenced to 108 months (9 years) in federal prison and 5 years of supervised release. The court reportedly also ordered him to pay $10,000 in restitution. As of writing, Ryan is incarcerated at the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York.
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