A former Fergus Falls substitute teacher has been sentenced to five years in a federal prison for distributing child pornography, according to a press release from acting U.S. Attorney Gregory Brooker.
Joshua Noble, 39, was caught obtaining and distributing at least 244 images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including children under 12, infants and toddlers. He was sentenced Nov. 2 before Judge Ann D. Montgomery in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
Noble had worked in the school district for about 15 years.
According to court documents, on March 4, 2016, undercover police officers began watching Noble, who was exchanging pornography using an online chatroom called Chatstep.com which allows users to communicate anonymously and does not store chats.
Noble was charged April 17, 2017. He pleaded guilty June 29 and was convicted of one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to prison time, he also must pay $26,000 in restitution and $5,000 to the Domestic Trafficking Victims Fund.
The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The case resulted from an investigation conducted by Homeland Security in Grand Forks, N.D., and Washington D.C., the statement said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Dugi prosecuted the case.
Led by the U.S. Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the effort has seen more than 11,447 defendants convicted in federal courts of an offense related to the sexual exploitation of a minor.