A former men’s water polo coach for the University of California-Davis and a local youth club was hit with a 7-year sentence for sharing more than a dozen child porn files in a private group chat.
Over a month in 2022, Daniel Joseph Noble, 28, shared the explicit videos in a Kik private group chat. Some of his files showed prepubescent minors being sexually and sadistically abused by adults, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in an statement about the sentencing.
Noble pleaded guilty in June to one of three felony counts of distribution of 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 a child,” Noble’s attorney, Erin Radekin, previously told the publication.
Noble was employed as an assistant coach for the men’s water polo team at UC Davis when he was arrested on May 19, 2022, according to statements by the university. The school put him on administrative leave and then terminated him the following day.
Noble also worked as an assistant coach at the unaffiliated private Davis Water Polo Club, where he began coaching children in 2017, UC Davis said.
The university launched an independent investigation and determined Noble, who worked on campus for less than three years, did not engage in misconduct at the school or the club.
On Thursday, a judge sentenced Noble to seven years and three months in prison for knowing distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit behavior. Noble was also ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to his victims.
When asked for a comment on the sentencing, a UC Davis spokesman said to refer to the university’s online postings for “any information/commentary you need from us.”
Radekin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
