U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV | U.S. Department of Justice
A Nicholasville man, Darren Michael Ruble, has been sentenced to 240 months in prison for receiving child pornography. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves. Ruble, aged 30, had previously entered a plea agreement admitting to his crimes.
Law enforcement discovered Ruble's activities after tracing money sent via PayPal to an account linked with selling and live streaming child pornography. As a registered sex offender, Ruble was identified as the account owner. During an interview on October 17, 2023, he confessed to purchasing and accessing images of child pornography. A search of his cell phones revealed over 200 images and 250 videos of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct.
Ruble has prior convictions in Indiana: sexual misconduct with a minor (attempted) in December 2015, two counts of possession of child pornography in July 2014, and sexual misconduct with a minor in March 2014.
Under federal law, Ruble is required to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence. Following his release from prison, he will be under supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for 25 years.
The guilty plea was announced jointly by Carlton S. Shier IV, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); Col. Phillip J. Burnett Jr., Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police; and Sheriff Mike Coyle from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation involved HSI, KSP, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office with Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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