Kansas man whose podcast has celebrity guests arrested on suspicion of child porn

A 53-year-old Andale man who created and hosts a podcast that talks with CEOs and celebrities about leadership has been arrested on suspicion of child porn, records show.

Richard Rierson was arrested Thursday on suspicion of 23 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Guests on Rierson’s podcast, Dose of Leadership with Richard Rierson, include actor Matthew McConaughey, former NFL coach Bill Cowher, Barbara Corcoran from the popular show “Shark Tank” and Forbes editor-in-chief Steve Forbes. The 9-year-old podcast says it has been the “ultimate leadership resource of inspiring and educational interviews with relevant and motivating leaders.”

Calls to Rierson’s phone went to voicemail Friday and a message was not immediately returned.

Around 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Rierson was arrested during a traffic stop on West Kellogg in regard to an ongoing investigation by the Exploited and Missing Child Unit, according to Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Matthew Lynch. No charges were made against Rierson in Sedgwick County District Court or in the federal court in Kansas on Friday.

The statute he was arrested under says “possessing any visual depiction of a child under 18 years of age shown or heard engaging in sexually explicit conduct with intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires or appeal to the prurient interest of the offender or any other person.”

According to Rierson’s LinkedIn page, he also worked as a pilot, in radio and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. The Wichita Business Journal named him a 40 under 40 in 2007 when he was a vice president at a hotel chain.