Former UC Davis and Davis Club Water Polo Coach Pleads Guilty to Distribution of Visual Depictions of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Daniel Joseph Noble, 28, residing in San Diego County, pleaded guilty today to knowing distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court records, between March 10, 2022, and April 12, 2022, Noble participated in a Kik private group chat dedicated to sharing videos of child pornography. Noble shared over 20 video files with the Kik group. Some of those files that Noble shared showed prepubescent minors being sexually abused by adults. At the time he engaged in this conduct, Noble was working as the assistant water polo coach for UC Davis men’s team and the associated youth team.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Sacramento and in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case.

Following his guilty plea, Noble was remanded into custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta. 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. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.