DAVIS, Calif. — A federal grand jury indicted an assistant coach for the UC Davis Men's Water Polo team on suspected child pornography-related charges Thursday.
26-year-old Daniel Noble was charged with the "distribution of visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct."
According to the affidavit obtained by ABC10 from the United States District Court, an undercover FBI special agent from Florida observed Noble entering online group chats "on multiple occasions" where people, including young girls, were sharing sexual photos and videos. Authorities say Noble entered the online group chats while employed as the assistant water polo coach for the UC Davis Men's Water Polo team and the associated youth team under the username "The Ginger."
Noble allegedly began sharing videos of child pornography in online group chats. He is not accused of creating any of the videos.
Noble was arrested on May 19, 2022, by FBI agents at his home on child pornography-related charges. He was later released on "a $100,000 bond, with special conditions including no contact with minors and home confinement with electronic location monitoring," the U.S. Attorney's office said
"If convicted, Noble faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release," a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office says.
On May 19, 2022, the university said it immediately placed Noble on administrative leave prior to learning of his arrest. Noble has been ordered to stay away from the campus and if he returns to campus, he will be arrested.
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