Ryan Wappel: Convicted teen sex offender caught supposedly teaching kids "dance moves"

Ryan Wappel may have a baby face, but in December, the Longmont eighteen-year-old was convicted of an innocence-robbing sex crime and sentenced to eight years of sex-offender probation. Which he allegedly broke while teaching "dance moves" to two kids, age seven and nine...

By Michael Roberts

March 2, 2011

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Ryan Wappel may have a baby face, but in December, the Longmont eighteen-year-old was convicted of an innocence-robbing sex crime and sentenced to eight years of sex-offender probation.

Which he allegedly broke while teaching "dance moves" to two kids, age seven and nine.

According to the Boulder Daily Camera, Wappel pleaded guilty to a "criminal attempt to commit Internet sexual exploitation of a child," following accusations that he'd exchanged "suggestive text messages and naked photos" with elementary-school age boys either he or a friend was babysitting. The arrest warrant referenced one child who allegedly offered a photo after Wappel said, "I'm going to hurt you if you don't send one back."

Wappel's probation calls on him to stay away from kids and to immediately inform his probation officer and therapist if he'd accidentally encountered any -- and he did, sort of. The Camera reports that he told his overseers that he'd tossed a ball back to a couple of children once or twice, when he actually hung out with them for forty minutes. Wappel, who's back in Boulder County Jail on a $100,000 bond, subsequently claimed he'd been teaching the youngsters dance moves.

Wonder if they included the Back Behind Bars Shuffle...

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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