Fed grand jury indicts ex-water polo coach

A federal grand jury in Sacramento returned a three-count indictment Thursday against a former University of California, Davis, water polo coach, charging him with distribution of visual depictions of minors engaging in explicit sex acts, a U.S. Attorney said.

In a press statement, Phillip A. Talbert, the U.S. Attorney for the Department of Justice's Eastern District of California, said jurors indicted Daniel Joseph

Noble, 26, of Davis.

Court documents show that, while working as assistant water polo coach for UC Davis men's team and the associated youth team, Noble joined a Canadian instant messaging mobile app, Kik, where users exchanged videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children, Talbert said.

On multiple dates in 2022, Noble reportedly sent the Kik group videos showing children being sexually abused. Noble was arrested May 19 after being served with a search warrant at his residence in Davis, added Talbert.

Noble has been released on a $100,000 bond, with special conditions, including no contact with minors and home confinement with electronic location monitoring.

If convicted, Noble faces a maximum prison term of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years, a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release, noted Talbert.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case, which stems from an investigation by the FBI (in Sacramento and Jacksonville, Florida) and the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the DOJ to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

For more information, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.