A former men's water polo coach at the University of California, Davis and a local youth club was sentenced to seven years in prison for sharing more than a dozen child pornography files in a private group chat.
For one month in 2022, Daniel Joseph Noble, 28, shared explicit videos in a private group chat on Kik. U.S. Attorney Philip A. Talbert said his file also included stories of prepubescent minors being sexually and sadistically abused by adults. said in a sentencing statement..
Noble pleaded guilty in June to one of three felonies for distributing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The Davis Enterprise reported.
“There is no evidence or allegation in this case that Mr. Noble ever had any contact with children,” Noble's attorney Erin Radekin previously told the magazine.
Noble was employed as an assistant coach for the UC Davis men's water polo team at the time of his arrest on May 19, 2022. According to the university's announcement. The school placed him on administrative leave and fired him the next day.
Noble also worked as an assistant coach at the private, unaffiliated Davis Water Polo Club, and began coaching children in 2017, according to the University of California, Davis.
The university launched an independent investigation and determined that Mr. Noble had worked on campus for less than three years and had not committed any wrongdoing at the school or club.
On Thursday, a judge sentenced Noble to seven years and three months in prison for knowingly distributing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit acts. Mr. Noble was ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to the victims.
When asked for comment on the ruling, a UC Davis spokesperson said the school would refer to the university's online postings “for any necessary information or explanation.”
Radekin did not respond to requests for comment.
