Warrants detail porn charges against York Prep official

Published: July 12, 2012 

Timothy Frank Ruzbacki

York Prep board member out on bond

A York Preparatory Academy school board member accused of possessing child pornography told authorities they would find a pornographic video on his computer that involved an adult woman and a 4- to 6-month-old infant, according to a York County Sheriff’s Office arrest warrant.

The video is one of 10 that sheriff’s office investigators said they found on Timothy Frank Ruzbacki’s computer.

Ruzbacki, 52, was arrested at his home Monday and charged with 10 felony counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. The third-degree charge means Ruzbacki is accused of possessing child pornography. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

Copies of the arrest warrants obtained by The Herald include graphic details about the videos, which depict children between the ages of 4 months and 13 years engaged in sexual acts with adults.

The videos were found on Ruzbacki’s Compaq Presario laptop, according to the warrants.

Ruzbacki couldn’t be reached Wednesday.

Authorities began investigating Ruzbacki following an Internet chat he allegedly had on Feb. 10 with a person he believed was an underage female in Los Angeles, said Adam Piper, spokesman for the South Carolina Attorney General’s office.

That person notified the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, which referred the case to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children task force, Piper said.

The York County Sheriff’s Office, a task force member, handled the investigation and arrest. The Rock Hill City Police Department assisted with the arrest.

Authorities seized two computers and three cell phones.

Ruzbacki could face additional charges after the evidenced is reviewed, Piper said.

Ruzbacki was released from the Moss Justice Center in York just after midnight Wednesday on a $50,000 bond, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Attorney General’s office will prosecute the case, but a court date hasn’t been set.

Ruzbacki is in his second term on the Rock Hill charter school’s governing board.

He has been a member for about 1 1/2 years and is the board’s 2012-2013 academic committee chairman.

York Prep’s board of directors voted Tuesday to suspend Ruzbacki indefinitely.

Board Chairman Carey Netherland said he planned to meet with parents Wednesday evening to address concerns.

What’s clear so far, Netherland said, is the case’s “only association with YPA is that Tim was a board member.

“We understand there are concerns, but it’s a private issue between Mr. Ruzbacki and law enforcement,” Netherland said. “Our main concern is the well-being of the students.”

Shawn Cetrone 803-329-4072

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