Motocross mentor accused of child rape in several states. Officials need public’s help
A man with no permanent address who lived with families or on a bus while he built motocross tracks and mentored kids about the sport is now accused of child rape.
Ryan Andrew Meyung was arrested in December and charged with three counts of child rape and two counts of aggravated kidnapping, the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office in Tennessee said in a Jan. 10 news release. Hamilton County, home to Chattanooga, is in east Tennessee on the Georgia border.
Meyung’s arrest was published in the local news, prompting several people from other states to come forward with similar allegations, the DA’s office said.
Investigators now believe there could be victims in as many as 10 states.
Meyung ran a business in Indiana called “Live Your Dreams MX” in which he traveled across the U.S. and in other countries building motocross tracks as well as mentoring children about the sport of motocross, Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said in the news release.
Haspin Acres Off-Road & Motocross Park in Laurel, Indiana, lists Meyung as its race manager. The track acknowledged his arrest in a Facebook post on Dec. 19.
“The future of motocross racing at Haspin Acres is now uncertain,” the track said. “As many of you know, our MX Race Manager, Ryan Meyung, has been arrested in Tennessee and is awaiting his day in court. All plans for motocross racing at Haspin Acres next season are indefinitely suspended.”
Meyung also maintains a public Facebook page that identifies himself as a pro rider, professional motocross monster truck and supercross track builder, motocross trainer and race coordinator.
Prior to operating “Live Your Dreams MX,” officials said, Meyung traveled frequently while working with “several youth-oriented organizations and youth ministries.” He also worked at various points as a product delivery driver for a company in Hamilton County.
“Meyung has no known permanent address,” the DA’s office said. “He has resided with local families in areas where he builds motocross tracks and performs motocross camps for children or lives out of a bus he co-owned with another unnamed individual.”
Police in Chattanooga and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office partnered with Homeland Security Investigations to conduct a broader investigation into Meyung. They now believe there may be victims in as many as 10 states — including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The DA’s office said investigators are beginning in states where people have reached out to law enforcement about “potential criminal law violations regarding Meyung and other children.”
Meyung is currently being held at the Hamilton County jail.
Anyone with information about his arrest or who believes their child might be a victim is asked to call the Homeland Security tip line at 866-347-2423 or go to https://www.ice.gov/tipline.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified where Hamilton County is located.
If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom.
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