A shocking case of child exploitation has come to light in Florida, where a former attorney, Rugh James Cline, 44, has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for soliciting sex acts from children in Cambodia.
According to court documents, Cline travelled to Cambodia and paid four Cambodian children to engage in sex acts with him on multiple occasions. Furthermore, when he was arrested in Cambodia, Cline was found to be in possession of a laptop containing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material.
Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Sara C. Sweeney for the Middle District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor of the FBI Tampa Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Department of State, Cambodian National Police, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.
Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilyssa Spergel and Courtney Derry for the Middle District of Florida prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006.
Rugh James Cline, a former Florida-licensed attorney from Tampa, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for paying a child in a foreign country to engage in a commercial sex act with him.
Defendant: Rugh James Cline
Criminal Charges: Paying a child in a foreign country to engage in a commercial sex act
City and State: Tampa, Florida
Exact Date: Not available
Sentence or Outcome: 9 years in prison
Related Federal Cases
- Eric James Templeton, Child Luring and Sex Abuse, Florida 2024 · Wisconsin
- Eric James Templeton, Attempting to Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity, Florida 2021 · Arkansas
- James Joseph Weishaar, Child Sex Abuse Material, Florida 2023 · Florida
- James Joseph Weishaar, Child Sex Abuse Material Receipt, Florida 2023 · Alaska
- Justin Vancott-Harnish, Sex Trafficking, Florida 2025 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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