Sounds like Ryle Ward is the culprit (8)
I believe the answer is:
offender
'culprit' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for offender that I've seen before include "Delinquent" , "One breaking rule" , "Transgressor, lawbreaker" , "miscreant" , "guilty party" .)