Former Boy Scout leader had 10,000 photos and 600 videos of child porn

Will Cleveland

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A former Boy Scout leader was sentenced Wednesday for possession of thousands of images and hundreds of videos of child pornography.

Russell Ruth, a 34-year-old Lyons,Wayne County resident, pleaded guilty in May to possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to 80 months (6⅔ years) in federal prison by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr.

During a June 2018 search of Ruth's home, investigators seized electronic devices containing over 10,285 images and 600 videos of child pornography, including images of prepubescent children and images involving molestation, authorities said.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Marangola, who is handling the case, said in a news release that in 2018 Ruth uploaded five files containing child pornography to a Yahoo server. Yahoo intercepted the files and reported them to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Before his 2018 arrest, Ruth was employed by the Boy Scouts of America. Since 2006 he had been the Scoutcraft director at Camp Babcock-Hovey in Ovid, Seneca County.

According to a parent, he was known to scouts by his camp name "Captain Rick." His duties focused on teaching scouts fire building, knot tying and other outdoors skills. He was recognized in 2017 for 25 years of participation at the Scout camp.

According to court papers, Ruth voluntarily told investigators that he had several hundred child pornography files on his laptop computer. He told them, "It’s boys, it’s boys with boys, boys with men," according to the criminal complaint

He also told investigators that he was not proud of himself and that he "always thought there was something wrong with me. It's almost like an addiction."

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Ruth's attorney, Clark Zimmermann, previously said Ruth was seeking treatment for an addiction to pornography when he was arrested.

"He's remorseful," Zimmermann said. "He wished he sought help and treatment earlier."

Officials with the Seneca Waterways Council of the Boys Scouts of America said they worked with law enforcement agencies during the investigation. The council oversees Scouting activities for nearly 11,000 youths in Ontario, Wayne, Seneca, Yates and Monroe counties.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Boy Scouts of America: Former leader possessed child porn