Former UC Davis water polo coach Daniel Noble has been banned by the US Center for Safe Sport after a May arrest for distribution of child pornography.
While the US Center for Safesport does not list Noble’s ban as “permanent,” it also has not applied the temporary label. The update in the SafeSport database includes listing “criminal disposition,” though Sacramento federal court records do not show any disposition of the case.
Noble was arrested on May 19 and appeared in court the next day. Court documents stay that he was in a chat room on the messaging app Kik that was created by an undercover federal agent from Florida as part of a sting. The agent saw videos of underage girls performing sexual acts posted by a user named “numerounoginger.”
Investigators were able to track the account to Nobel’s address in Davis. After the FBI searched his home, Noble admitted to sharing the videos, but said he didn’t create them and that he didn’t believe that he committed a crime.
A confession of distributing child pornography would still likely be a violation of the US Safe Sport Code of Conduct, regardless of whether Noble is found guilty in a court of law.
UC Davis fired Noble before his contract expiration on June 30, and was ordered to stay away from campus. Noble was indicted by a grand jury on June 2 and charged with a Felony. The charge comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. Additionally, each count can include a $250,000 fine, and up to a lifetime of supervised release.
UC Davis university officials conducted their own investigation, including interviewing 17 individuals affiliated with UC Davis athletics and the Davis Water Polo Club from June 1 through June 23.
That investigation found that Noble did not engage in sexual misconduct through his work with the school or the Davis Water Polo Club, an unaffiliated club program. The report did find an unrelated instance where he failed to report that the school inadvertently paid him more than he was owed, unrelated to the child pornography charges.
Noble was released on a $100,000 bond after his arrangement, which included not allowing him access to a smartphone, computer, or any device capable of accessing his internet without approval, aside from one cellular device with monitoring software installed. The most recent activity in the case came last week, where the terms of his release were amended. He is now allowed to have one laptop, with monitoring software installed, to allow him to virtually attend college and attend zoom meetings. The updated order on conditions of his release indicated that he has been fully compliant with conditions of his pretrial release to date, and that the Assistant US Attorney prosecuting the case had no objection to the modification.
Noble was a coach with UC Davis for three seasons. He began his coaching career in 2015 with the age group programs at the San Clemente Tritons Water Polo Club. He also spent a year as an assistant for the girls water polo and swim teams at Capistrano Valley High School from 2016-2017.
He moved to Northern California in 2017 and began coaching the 12 & under programs at the UC Davis Water Polo Club.
It would be interesting to example be the characteristics of those that self select into youth sports coaching as a full time career. Far too many of these cases. Similar to the Catholic Church. Serious question. We’re these things always happening and going unreported? Or is this a recent phenomenon? Regardless, this is becoming a pandemic in youth sports.
HEADLINE SHOULD BE UPDATED TO FORMER UC DAVIS……………
As a teacher and coach for 40+ years, the law and the guidelines for adult conduct are really painfully clear. Although I respect fully the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ doctrine, there are so many red flags in this piece that scream, “BAD DECISIONS” on his part. I don’t get a ‘second chance’ in MY job! Why should anyone else expect such indulgence or leniency????
make him rot in jail