Petoskey have arrested the man who had more than 10,000 pictures and videos of child pornography
PETOSKEY, MI -- THURSDAY UPDATE:
The Petoskey Department of Public Safety is pursing more charges against the man who allegedly had more than 10,000 child pornography pictures.
Richard Ruffe is now facing an additional nine felony counts, including now, new charges for distribution of child porn.
These charges are in addition to his 20 felony counts of using a computer to commit a crime and possession of child sexually abusive material.
The maximum penalty for any of the charges is seven years.
Petoskey police continue to say the investigation is far from over.
Ruffe is next due in court on January 4th for a pretrial.
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WEDNESDAY UPDATE: An update tonight: Petoskey Department of Public Safety detectives have told 7&4 News they will pursue more charges against 50 year-old Richard Ruffe, the man who was arrested for allegedly having more than 10,000 files and videos of child pornography.
Detectives can't go into details, but they say they've found more evidence that shows more charges are warranted.
Officers have also received several calls regarding the case in the last 24-hours, but say they can't go into details.
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"There’s pictures with kids as young as one, and as old as maybe 12," explains Petoskey Department of Public Safety Detective David Schultz.
Disturbing news out of Emmet County, where a Petoskey man is behind bars, charged with having more than 10,000 pictures and videos of child pornography.
Computers, hard drives, mass storage devices, and cell phones were seized from a Downtown Petoskey home.
Police say what they found is disgusting, and the investigation has just begun.
We want to give you a warning -- what you hear may be disturbing and is not intended for children.
"This is hardcore pornographic sexual material of children," explains Petoskey Department of Public Safety Detective David Schultz.
Police arrested and charged this man, 50 year-old Richard Ruffe, for allegedly having more than 10,000 pictures and videos of child porn in his possession. They seized more than 20 electronic devices from this home on Emmet Street in Downtown Petoskey last week, and what they found is children, both boys and girls, as young as one, being violently molested by adult men.
“Raping them, doing everything to them," says Schultz.
Schultz believes Ruffe collected and traded the videos and pictures using in a peer-to-peer file exchange program. Ruffe is charged with 10 counts of both possession of child sexually abusive material and using computers to commit a crime, both felonies. Petoskey detectives got the tip of illegal use from a deputy with the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office.
“This was just an initial preview. There's still so much data to go through that there may be other items that we come across, but we had a duty to the public once we did find those photos and videos that we needed to put him in jail," says Schultz.
Rright now, forensics are being done on every electronic device the Petoskey Department of Public Safety seized.
“You see stuff like that and become mad, but as an officer, we have a duty to separate that emotion and to just make sure we do the case right," says Schultz.
Now the thing that may be most disturbing is investigators have not ruled out the fact that there could be local minors involved. If your son or daughter has had contact with this man, the Petoskey Department of Public Safety wants to hear from you.
Ruffe remains locked up in the Emmet County jail tonight.
His bond is set at $50,000.
Police say there could be more people arrested and charged as the investigation develops.
If you have any information or you believe your child is a victim, call the Petoskey Department of Public Safety at (231)347-2500.
