Ricci Wynne, a viral video creator who focuses on homeless San Francisco drug users, was indicted Tuesday by a federal jury for producing child sexual abuse images.
According to the federal indictment, Wynne, 39, coerced two minors to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of recording by photo or video in April and October 2022. Wynne faces two counts of producing and transporting child porn.
He is also being prosecuted on pimping and pandering charges in a separate case filed by the San Francisco District Attorney’s office filed in November.
Wynne, a drug dealer turned activist known for appearing on Fox News, was stopped by federal authorities on Nov. 24, 2024, at San Francisco International Airport, the indictment said. Federal agents confiscated his iPhone and found explicit images involving minors on it. The images were transmitted electronically, triggering federal jurisdiction.
Wynne, who was on federal probation, was traveling back to the city from Miami with a 30-year-old woman investigators believe he was pimping out for sex work. He was arrested by San Francisco police the following day as part of an investigation that named him as a suspect in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old.
Police searched his luxury apartment on the 28th floor of 399 Fremont St. on the day they arrested him and discovered $79,900 in cash and three cellphones they said contained evidence of sex work, according to a police report viewed by The Standard.
Wynne, at the time, denied that the phones belonged to him or that he was a pimp, according to the report.
U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Michelle Lo said Wynne is in federal custody. If convicted, Wynne faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The San Francisco Public Defender’s office, which is representing Wynne in the local case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening. Wynne is scheduled to appear in San Francisco federal court next week.