David Rubel, Child Pornography Production, New York 2023

David Rubel, 38, of Kenmore, NY, is facing federal charges for the production and possession of child pornography — a case that unraveled through a father’s discovery of disturbing text messages on his daughter’s phone. The arrest, announced today by U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr., exposes a pattern of predatory behavior allegedly conducted through encrypted texts and illicit image exchanges.

The complaint reveals that the investigation began when a parent reported to the Town of Tonawanda Police Department that Rubel had been exchanging sexually explicit messages with his daughter, who recently turned 16. The parent flagged the texts as inappropriate and allowed law enforcement to examine the teen’s phone. What they found was worse than suspected: explicit images embedded in messages between Rubel and the victim.

With consent from the victim’s father, a detective from the Town of Tonawanda Police Department conducted a forensic search of the girl’s cell phone. The message thread contained not only sexual text exchanges but also lewd images sent by Rubel. Investigators then obtained and searched Rubel’s own phone, where they recovered multiple sexual images — including two videos — that were identical to those found on the victim’s device.

Rubel was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life behind bars. The presence of matching videos on both devices strengthens the prosecution’s claim that Rubel not only received but created and distributed child sexual abuse material.

The defendant appeared this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was released under strict conditions, including home detention. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan A. Tokash and was the result of a joint investigation by the Town of Tonawanda Police Department, led by Chief James P. Stauffiger, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under Special Agent-in-Charge Stephen Belongia.

The federal complaint against David Rubel is an accusation; under U.S. law, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. As the case moves forward, investigators are reviewing digital evidence for signs of additional victims or connections to larger networks involved in child exploitation.

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