A former senior deputy with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office faces up to 40 years in federal prison after he admitted on Monday to sexually abusing two children and recording explicit videos of them using secret cameras.

Ryan Hall, 51, of Woodbine, a 27-year veteran who previously worked as a detective investigating intimate partner violence, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to two counts of sexual exploitation of children.

As part of a plea agreement, Hall faces a sentence between 25 and 40 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Brendan A. Hurson scheduled sentencing for March 3, 2026.

If Hurson sentences Hall above that range, he will be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas.

“He has been unrelenting in his acceptance of responsibility, understanding the grave consequences of this case,” said Joe Murtha, Hall’s attorney, outside the courtroom.

Murtha described the case as a tragedy, calling his client “someone who had given so much to his community.”

On Oct. 22, 2024, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office arrested Hall, and a federal grand jury later indicted him on 10 counts.

Hall started sexually abusing the girls when they were 10 and installed secret cameras to record explicit videos of them, Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen McGuinn said.

Law enforcement, she said, found memory cards in the sunglasses compartment of his vehicle containing thousands of images.

In a statement, Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said his office holds its members to the “highest standard of integrity,” adding that the agency takes any abuse of power or breach of public trust very seriously.

“I find it both personally and professionally disappointing that someone within our ranks would break that trust and be accused of such heinous acts and crimes,” Gahler said. “My thoughts go out to the victims in this case.”

Hall is being held in the Howard County Detention Center while he awaits sentencing.