Coast Guard Petty Officer Arrested On Child Pornography Charges

FALMOUTH (CBS) -- A Coast Guard petty officer has been charged with possessing child pornography.

State Police say Ryan Ruff, 32, of West Barnstable, was arrested Wednesday morning at the U.S. Coast Guard Base on Cape Cod. He was arraigned hours later in Falmouth District Court.

Authorities began their investigation Sunday when Ruff was in a traffic accident and charged with drunk driving.  He was taken to the State Police barracks in Bourne where, according to court records, he tried to place a call to his wife on his cell phone. He had trouble making the call and asked troopers for help.

According to the records, he handed the phone to a trooper, who inadvertently hit a wrong button and child pornography allegedly appeared on the phone.

Police got a search warrant Monday to inspect Ruff's phone and iPad and they allegedly found hundreds of images of children as young as 7 years old in various stages of nudity and performing sex acts.

Ruff appeared in court again Thursday and was released with a monitoring bracelet.

A Coast Guard spokesperson said Ruff is a Petty Officer 2nd Class, with a rank of E5. The agency is working with State Police in the investigation and no decision has been made yet on his status with the Coast Guard.

State Police said Ruff was also arrested by troopers in Bourne on September 13 for drunk driving.