BUFFALO – A former Boy Scout employee has been arrested for alleged possession of child pornography, according to U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr.
Russell Ruth, 34, of Lyons, N.Y., faces up to 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa M. Marangola said that 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.
On Saturday, New York State Police executed the search warrant at Ruth’s Ditton Street residence in Lyons. A forensic examination of the defendant’s
laptop computer and cellular telephone recovered hundreds of images and videos of child pornography involving minor boys. The defendant was employed by the Boy Scouts of America in the Ovid, N.Y. area.
Ruth made an initial appearance today before U.S. District Judge Jonathan W. Feldman and is being held pending a detention hearing on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. The complaint is the result of investigation by Immigration and Customs
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.