A former Boy Scouts employee is facing child porn charges, according to federal prosecutors.
Russell Ruth, 34, of Lyons is charged with possession of child pornography.
Ruth worked for the Boy Scouts of America in Ovid was arrested after Yahoo! said it had found suspected child porn files on its servers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators traced the communications associated with the files back to Ruth, and then executed a search warrant at his home in Lyons.
He lived on Ditton Street in the Town of Lyons, according to prosecutors.
Hundreds of images and videos of child porn were found on his computer and cell phone.
At this point, prosecutors say it doesn’t appear any abuses took place at the Boy Scout camps or programs in Seneca County.
The local Boy Scout chapter issued the following statement:
“For the last several weeks we have been participating with multiple law enforcement agencies regarding the investigation into Russell Ruth.”
This individual’s behavior is abhorrent and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands. Upon learning of the investigation, we took immediate action to remove this individual and prohibit him from any future participation in our programs.
At this point, we have been advised by law enforcement, there is no evidence of any improprieties happening anywhere within Camp or any Scouting program.
Nothing is more important than the safety of our youth members. We seek to prevent child abuse through comprehensive policies and procedures to serve as barriers to abuse. These include a thorough screening process for adult leaders and staff, criminal background checks, requiring two or more adult leaders be present with youth at all times during Scouting activities, the prompt mandatory reporting of any allegation or suspicion of abuse and advocating on behalf of victims when abuse is identified.
Anyone with any information on potential abuse should contact authorities to ensure the safety of our youth, in and out of Scouting.”
