Bryon Noem, the husband of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, allegedly used a work phone linked to his insurance company to conduct paid calls with a Colorado-based woman during their years-long online relationship. The accusations come from Shy Sotomayor, a sex worker known online as Raelynn Riley, who says she possesses recordings, messages and payment records documenting nearly a decade of contact with Bryon.
Bryon Noem allegedly used his work phone to contact Sotomayor for years
Sotomayor told Uncloseted Media that Bryon repeatedly contacted her through a phone number associated with Noem Insurance Group. According to her account, the number was used to schedule calls and coordinate payments that she said eventually totaled tens of thousands of dollars. The phone number matches one previously linked to Bryon in an April The Independent report that reviewed messages in which he allegedly discussed feminization and expressed a desire to be called “Crystal.” At the time, Bryon responded that the allegations were “not all true,” though he did not specify which claims he disputes.
Bryon Noem’s transition-related fantasies
Sotomayor said her conversations with Bryon frequently centered on feminization and transition-related topics. “I knew he was in my DMs saying, ‘I want to be trans, bimbo, I want to get hair implants, I wanna get b***** implants, I wanna do all of this kind of transitioning,’” she said. “And then he goes on interviews and be like, ‘Oh, my wife is God’s gift to me, and she’s right in everything that she does.’”
According to Sotomayor, Bryon often referred to himself in feminine terms, using aliases including Crystal and maintaining an email address containing “Chrystalballz666.”
“He repeatedly asked to go by Crystal,” Sotomayor said. “He said, ‘I will be your trans girl.’”
The allegations are especially noteworthy because they appear at odds with the Noems’ politics. As governor of South Dakota, Kristi signed legislation restricting gender-affirming care for minors, limiting transgender participation in sports and expanding protections for businesses that deny services to the LGBTQ+ community.
Bryon Noem reportedly ‘did not care’ about being found out
Sotomayor said she did not initially know her client’s identity and only learned it after he allegedly failed to switch aliases on a PayPal invoice. She also described him as unconcerned about being exposed. “Anytime I talked to him and was like, ‘Hey, people could find us out,’ he’s like, ‘I don’t care,’” she recalled. Sotomayor described Bryon as a “loose cannon” who continued making contact even as public scrutiny increased.
A former CIA officer told the Daily Mail that behavior of that nature could create vulnerabilities if discovered by a hostile intelligence service.
Early reports of Bryon Noem’s conduct coincided with Kristi Noem’s removal from office
Bryon has largely remained out of public view throughout his wife’s political career. The couple has been married for more than 30 years and has long presented their family as Christian and conservative. The first reports about Bryon’s alleged online activities surfaced around the same time that Kristi left her position at the Department of Homeland Security in March.
Sotomayor said she feared retaliation when early reports emerged because Kristi was overseeing ICE operations and she lived near a detention facility in Colorado.
