Russell Ruth, a 34-year-old resident of Lyons, New York, was arrested and charged with possession of child pornography, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The arrest was made on June 7, 2018, after a search warrant was executed at Ruth’s Ditton Street residence in Lyons. A forensic examination of his laptop computer and cellular telephone recovered hundreds of images and videos of child pornography involving minor boys.
Ruth was employed by the Boy Scouts of America in the Ovid, NY area.
According to the complaint, in early March 2018, Yahoo! reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that a subscriber uploaded five suspected child pornography files to a Yahoo! server. NCMEC contacted law enforcement officers who traced the files to an email address belonging to the defendant.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.
Ruth made an initial appearance before U.S. District Judge Jonathan W. Feldman and is being held pending a detention hearing on July 11, 2018, at 2:30 p.m.
Members of the public who have information related to this case are urged to contact the local HSI Buffalo Office at 716-464-5949. HSI victim-witness specialists will be available to assist any parent or guardian should they need victim-related resources. If any members of the public have general questions or concerns regarding sexual abuse of children or would like guidance on how to discuss this issue with children, please call the Bivona Child Advocacy Center at 1-585-935-7800.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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