Ruley pleads guilty to possessing child porn and illegal firearms

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced Friday that a Nevada, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to possessing child pornography and to illegally possessing several firearms.

Thomas E. Ruley, 59, of Nevada, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard E. Dorr this morning to the charges contained in a March 31, 2009, federal indictment. Ruley was a professor at Cottey College, an all-women's school in Nevada, at the time of the offense.

Cottey College officials said in a statement Friday that the college had received notification that Tom Ruley, a former part-time employee, had pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography. "It is important to note that Ruley did not use College facilities or equipment when he broke the law, and the computers that were confiscated were Ruley's personal computers that were in his own home," the statement said.

Ruley was employed as an adjunct art instructor and later as a part-time webmaster for the College from August 2004 to August 2008. He has not been an employee of the institution for almost two years.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Ruley admitted that he was in possession of child pornography, which was discovered during a search of his home and computer equipment by law enforcement officers on July 4, 2008. Ruley admitted that some of the more than 600 images of child pornography involved a minor who was younger than 12 years of age, and portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct.

Ruley also admitted that, while he had a marijuana grow operation inside his residence and was an unlawful user of marijuana, he was in possession of a .38-caliber revolver and five rounds of .30 ammunition, a .32-caliber pistol with seven rounds of ammunition, a .22-caliber rifle and a 30-30 caliber level action rifle. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who is an unlawful user of a controlled substance to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition.

By pleading guilty today, Ruley agreed to forfeit to the federal government four computer towers, a computer server, two flash drives and three CDs, all of which were used to commit the child pornography offenses, as well as the firearms.

Under federal statutes, Ruley is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $500,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Nevada, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Childhood

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

"We strongly support Project Safe Childhood," said Judy Rogers, president of Cottey College, referring to the initiative by the Justice Department to combat child sexual abuse. "The sexual exploitation of children is abhorrent and we endorse those efforts to eliminate it and prosecute those involved in it to the fullest extent of the law."