ALBANY, NEW YORK - William C. Ruff, age 43, of Clifton Park, New York, pled guilty today to distributing child pornography.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
As part of his guilty plea, Ruff admitted that on eight occasions between Oct. 10, 2016 and Dec. 17, 2016, he used file-sharing software to distribute child pornography over the Internet. The pornographic videos and images depicted children as young as 3 years old.
Ruff, who has been in custody since his arrest on Dec. 21, 2016, is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 15, 2018 by Senior United States District Judge Norman A. Mordue. He faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least 5 years and up to lifetime post-imprisonment supervised release, and a maximum $250,000 fine. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Ruff will also have to register as a sex offender when he is released from prison.
This case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Giovannetti.
This case is prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
