Sex Offender Sentenced Up to Seven Years for Child Pornography

Aly Delp

Aly Delp

Published July 19, 2018 4:32 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – A Clarion man, a convicted sex offender, who was found with child pornography images on his cell phone was sentenced to up to seven years behind bars.

Court documents indicate that on Wednesday, July 11, President Judge James Arner sentenced 41-year-old Travis Wayne Ruschel of Clarion to a minimum of two years and a maximum of seven years confinement, with 217 days served.

Ruschel pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree felony Child Pornography on May 23.

He will also be required to pay the cost of prosecution, comply with requirements as a sex offender, and submit to DNA testing and pay the costs.

Details of the case:

According to a criminal complaint, members of the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations Computer Crimes Task Force served a search warrant at Ruschel’s 505 Maxwell Road apartment on August 25, 2017, after they received a “Cyber Tip” from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in relation to possible child pornography on Ruschel’s cell phone.

Investigators said an administrative subpoena revealed that Ruschel, who is a registered sex offender, was allegedly downloading child pornography via the device.

Ruschel was not at his residence when the police executed the search warrant; however, members of the task force seized multiple hard drives and tablet devices.

According to the criminal complaint, police located Ruschel at his workplace, and he provided his cell phone to investigators.

“Ruschel also provided a full recorded confession to downloading child pornography on his cell phone,” said Trooper Streyle in the criminal complaint.

A search warrant was issued to extract data from Ruschel’s cell phone. The extraction revealed prepubescent child pornography, according to the criminal complaint.

Ruschel, a Tier 3 sex offender, was convicted in 2005 on Aggravated Indecent Assault charges.

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State, Federal Investigators Find Child Pornography on Clarion Man’s Cell Phone

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