Hollywood actor and producer Shane Ryan Gledhill is facing a total of 24 felony charges relating to allegations of child sexual abuse. The 46-year-old, also known as Shane Ryan-Reid, has been accused of using his internet casting calls and film projects to find underage victims.
Arrest and Investigation
Gledhill was arrested in Lompoc on August 3 by Santa Barbara County officials and initially faced 15 counts of child sexual abuse, but that number later increased to 24. Among the charges are child molestation, rape, forcible sexual assault, possession of child sexual abuse material, and contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offence.
His arrest follows a five-year investigation, and police have said they believe there may be more survivors out there who are not known to them at present.
Alleged Conduct and Victims
Police said: "Investigators believe Gledhill’s alleged criminal conduct may have spanned approximately 25 years and involved individuals throughout the Central Coast, the Los Angeles area, and potentially the East Coast through his filmmaking and casting activities." Police also pointed out that those who interacted with the man in question may not recognise his legal name because he often used the name Shane Ryan-Reid or Shane Ryan when contacting his victims.
The investigation into Gledhill began in November 2021, when a 17-year-old reported "suspicious and inappropriate conduct" between her and the producer that she claimed had occurred two years earlier. Police said: "During the initial investigation, detectives identified two additional survivors. Over the course of the investigation, detectives identified nine survivors, all of whom were minors at the time of the alleged offences."
Legal Proceedings and Career
Months later, his home in Lompoc, California, was searched, and thousands of digital files were analysed by forensic experts. Currently, Gledhill is being held at Northern Branch Jail, and bail has been set at $500,000.
One of the films from Gledhill's back catalogue is titled Warning!!! Pedophile, which he produced and starred in, and sees him play a man who has just got out of prison after serving six years for molesting a 12-year-old girl. Another film, still listed as being in pre-production, is titled The Victim and follows a girl who is being held accountable for a man's suicide after she accused him of abuse.
According to his IMDB page, Gledhill has worked as a producer on almost 250 projects and, early on in his career, appeared in popular TV series such as The OC, Desperate Housewives and Disney Channel hit That's So Raven.
