{{short description|Ultramarathoner and convicted sex offender (born 1956)}} {{use mdy dates|date=December 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = John M. Pyle | image = John Pyle mug shot.jpg | alt = A mugshot of a clean-shaven bald white man; wearing a grey-and-white prison uniform and black spectacles, he is facing and looking into the camera. | caption = 2024 mug shot | birth_date = {{birth-date and age|Nov 23, 1956}} | occupation = Businessperson | known_for = {{unbulleted list|Transcontinental run|Criminal charges}} | criminal_charges = {{unbulleted list|Possession of<br />{{spaces|2}}child pornography × 30|Failure to appear}} | criminal_penalty = 15 years imprisonment | criminal_status = Imprisoned at Calhoun CI | spouse = {{marriage|Toninne||2015|end=div}} }}
'''John Michael Pyle''' (born November 23, 1956) is an American prisoner (and former fugitive) for possession of child pornography, former businessman, and noted ultramarathoner.
==Personal life== Born on November 23, 1956, John Michael Pyle<ref name="2016-06-24 Probable Cause Affidavit" /> dropped out from Manatee High School to pursue a career in carpentry. By his 20s, Pyle was an alcoholic; he entered alcohol rehabilitation on February 28, 1987.<ref name="2012-02-23 Observer" />
Circa 1975, he married a woman named Toninne,<ref name="2024-06-29 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" /> and they opened businesses in the construction and clothing industries,<ref name="2012-02-23 Observer" /> but became bankrupt in the business cycle of the 2000s.<ref name="2016-07-01 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" /> In 2015, and driven by his multiple adulterous relationships, the Pyles divorced.<ref name="2024-06-29 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" />
==Running== Under the tutelage of Ray Zahab,<ref name="2012-02-23 Observer" /> in 2012 Pyle spent 80 straight days running {{convert|3273|mi}} from San Francisco to Key West. He was raising funds and awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project, carrying a {{convert|3|by|5|ft|adj=on}} flag of the United States the whole way. Pyle was interviewed by local news outlets along his run, and was recognized at a Houston Astros game when he ran through that Texas city.<ref name="2018-06-04 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" />
==Criminal activity== In the late 20th century, Pyle was arrested for driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, and check kiting.<ref name="2016-06-24 WTSP" />
===Child pornography=== At approximately 6:45{{spaces}}a.m. on June 24, 2016, the Sarasota Police Department searched Pyle's condominium in Sarasota, Florida based on three tips received from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. They found 48 images of child pornography, including 15 depicting child sexual abuse and two with bondage; girls as young as seven and one year old were pictured. Due to the quantity of images, ages of the victims, and severity of the acts, Pyle was charged with 30 second-degree felonies for possessing child pornography (as opposed to third-degree charges), which could bring a sentence of 450 years imprisonment.<ref name="2016-07-01 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" />
thumb|left|June 24 mugshot|alt=A mugshot of a bald white man with a white prospector's mustache; wearing a white t-shirt, he is facing and looking into the camera. Imprisoned on the 24th, Pyle posted a bail bond of {{US$|90000|2016}} and surrendered his passport to leave jail. When he failed to attend a hearing 16 months later on October 23, 2017, he became a fugitive. Despite lacking his passport, Pyle boarded a cruise ship bound for Cozumel, Mexico. When Carnival called Pyle's brother to tell him that Pyle had failed to reboard in Cozumel, bounty hunters went to search for him. Pyle was last seen in Apodoco, Nuevo León on February 16, 2018, and by June it was believed he was no longer in that nation.<ref name="2018-06-04 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" /> In June 2022, Pyle was arrested by the United States Marshals Service and Mexico's National Institute of Migration in Mérida, Yucatán, and then transferred to Marshals' custody in Miami<ref name="2022-06-13 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" /> before being returned to the Sarasota County, Florida jail.<ref name="2024-04-18 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" />
Pyle was originally scheduled to stand trial in November 2023 on charges possessing child pornography and failure to appear. Pyle filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming that supporting evidence for the 2016 search warrant did not qualify as child pornography, rendering it invalid, and that any evidence obtained from thereby-unlawful searches was inadmissible. In January 2024, a Sarasota circuit judge denied Pyle's motions, citing sufficient evidence and the police probable cause affidavit. Pyle's trial was scheduled to begin the week of April 22;<ref name="2024-04-18 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" /> he instead pled guilty that day.<ref name="2024-04-22 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" />
At a June 28 sentencing hearing, the state requested a sentence of 35 years imprisonment. Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Thomas Krug instead sentenced Pyle to 15 years for the pornography charges with a 5-year concurrent sentence for failing to appear. His sentencing also included 15 years of probation, registration as a sex offender, and successful completion of a sex offender program.<ref name="2024-06-29 Sarasota Herald-Tribune" /> {{as of|2025|12|27|df=US|post=,}} Pyle was prisoner number 878267,<ref name="2024-08-18 Florida DOC" /> imprisoned at Franklin Correctional Institution with a release date of September 22, 2036 ({{time ago|2036-09-22}}).<ref name="Vinelink" />
==See also== * {{annotated link|List of fugitives from justice who disappeared}}
==References== <references>
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<ref name="2012-02-23 Observer">{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Nick |date=2012-02-23 |title=Going the Distance: Sarasota man to run 3,273 miles |url=https://www.yourobserver.com/article/going-distance-sarasota-man-run-3273-miles |url-status=live |language=en |publisher=Observer Media Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119110351/https://www.yourobserver.com/article/going-distance-sarasota-man-run-3273-miles |archive-date=2021-01-19 |access-date=2024-04-30}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2016-06-24 Probable Cause Affidavit">{{citation |last1=Buck |first1=Megan |date=2016-06-24 |title=Probable Cause Affidavit |publisher=Sarasota Police Department |language=en |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/316670866/Probable-Cause-Affidavit |access-date=2024-04-30 |archive-date=2021-01-30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130155114/https://www.scribd.com/doc/316670866/Probable-Cause-Affidavit |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
<ref name="2016-06-24 WTSP">{{cite news |last1=Conlon |first1=Kendra |date=2016-06-24 |title=Well-known Sarasota runner arrested for child porn |url=https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/well-known-sarasota-runner-arrested-for-child-porn/67-255276547 |url-status=live |language=en |publisher=WTSP |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210130154153/https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/sarasotacounty/well-known-sarasota-runner-arrested-for-child-porn/67-255276547 |archive-date=2021-01-30 |access-date=2024-04-30}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2016-07-01 Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{cite news |last1=Davidson |first1=Michael Scott |date=2016-07-01 |title=Well-known runner accused in child porn case |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20160701/well-known-runner-accused-in-child-porn-case |url-status=dead |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en |issn=2641-4503 |oclc=51645638 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919191435/https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20160701/well-known-runner-accused-in-child-porn-case |archive-date=2016-09-19 |access-date=2024-04-30 |quote=John Pyle was known for carrying a large American flag cross-country in a run to raise money for veterans charities.}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2018-06-04 Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Chris |date=2018-06-04 |title=Fugitive from Sarasota spotted in Mexico, still on the run |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180604/fugitive-from-sarasota-spotted-in-mexico-still-on-run |url-status=live |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en |issn=2641-4503 |oclc=51645638 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114235629/https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20180604/fugitive-from-sarasota-spotted-in-mexico-still-on-run |archive-date=2021-01-14 |access-date=2024-04-30 |quote=Sarasota County resident facing 30 counts of possessing child pornography and up to 450 years in prison was last seen in 2016}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2022-06-13 Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{cite news |last1=Szymanowska |first1=Gabriela |date=2022-06-13 |title=Sarasota man wanted since 2017 for possession of child pornography arrested in Mexico |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/crime/2022/06/13/john-pyle-sarasota-fugitive-child-pornograhpy-caught-arrested-mexico/7608765001/ |url-status=live |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en |issn=2641-4503 |oclc=51645638 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803195313/https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/crime/2022/06/13/john-pyle-sarasota-fugitive-child-pornograhpy-caught-arrested-mexico/7608765001/ |archive-date=2022-08-03 |access-date=2024-04-30}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2024-04-18 Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{cite news |last1=Szymanowska |first1=Gabriela |date=2024-04-18 |title=Child pornography trial set for Sarasota runner caught in Mexico. Here's what to know |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2024/04/18/trial-to-start-for-sarasota-runner-john-pyle-who-fled-to-mexico/72511623007/ |url-status=live |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en |issn=2641-4503 |oclc=51645638 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240419195708/https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2024/04/18/trial-to-start-for-sarasota-runner-john-pyle-who-fled-to-mexico/72511623007/ |archive-date=2024-04-19 |access-date=2024-04-19}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2024-04-22 Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{cite news |last1=Szymanowska |first1=Gabriela |date=2024-04-22 |title=No trial: Sarasota runner caught in Mexico enters guilty plea in child pornography case |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2024/04/22/no-trial-for-sarasota-man-caught-in-mexico-after-guilty-plea-entered/73410307007/ |url-status=live |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en |issn=2641-4503 |oclc=51645638 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422164800/https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2024/04/22/no-trial-for-sarasota-man-caught-in-mexico-after-guilty-plea-entered/73410307007/ |archive-date=2024-04-22 |access-date=2024-04-23}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2024-06-29 Sarasota Herald-Tribune">{{cite news |last1=Szymanowska |first1=Gabriela |date=2024-06-29 |title=Sarasota runner caught in Mexico sentenced to 15 years in prison in child pornography case |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2024/06/29/ex-fugitive-sarasota-runner-john-pyle-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison/73955574007/ |url-status=live |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |language=en |issn=2641-4503 |oclc=51645638 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629144609/https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/courts/2024/06/29/ex-fugitive-sarasota-runner-john-pyle-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison/73955574007/ |archive-date=2024-06-29 |access-date=2024-08-21}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
<ref name="2024-08-18 Florida DOC">{{cite web |url=https://pubapps.fdc.myflorida.com/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=878267 |title=Inmate Population Information Detail |date=2024-08-18 |publisher=Florida Department of Corrections |language=en |access-date=2025-12-27 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251227163101/https://pubapps.fdc.myflorida.com/offenderSearch/detail.aspx?Page=Detail&DCNumber=878267 |archive-date=2025-12-27}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
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<ref name="Vinelink">{{cite web |url=https://vinelink.vineapps.com/person-detail/offender/40564947 |title=JOHN M PYLE |publisher=Vinelink.com |language=en |access-date=2025-12-27 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251227163442/https://vinelink.vineapps.com/person-detail/offender/40564947 |archive-date=2025-12-27}}</ref><!-- exhausted -->
</references>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, John M.}} Category:1956 births Category:21st-century American criminals Category:American male criminals Category:American people convicted of child pornography offenses Category:American sportspeople convicted of crimes Category:fugitives wanted by the United States Category:living people Category:men ultramarathon runners Category:people extradited from Mexico to the United States Category:prisoners and detainees of Florida Category:sportspeople from Sarasota, Florida