A Florida lawyer Rugh James Cline was deported to the US after serving 2.5 years in a Cambodian prison for s*xually abusing four children
If he is proven guilty of child s*x charges in the US, he will have to face 170 years in prison.
Who is Florida lawyer Rugh James Cline deported back to the US for s*xually abusing four minors in Cambodia
Two years after his arrest in Cambodia, in February 2021, Rugh James Cline, 40, was charged by the Department of Justice. Currently, he is being kept under house arrest at his Tampa home.
Florida attorney charged with sexual abuse of children in Cambodia deported back to U.S. (Khmer Times)
🔘 A Florida-licensed attorney who’s accused of sexually abusing children in Cambodia appeared before a judge in Tampa Monday.
🔘 40-year-old Rugh James Cline was indicted… pic.twitter.com/3GPGWRmijA
— The Daily TrafficK (@DailyTrafficK) July 1, 2023
Cline graduated from the University of Miami School of Law in 2010 but has not been able to practise law in Florida due to “delinquent fees,” according to The Florida Bar.
It is unknown when he last practised law in Florida. The Florida Bar stated in 2021 that the accusations brought against him due to his actions in Cambodia did not “affect his ability to practise law.”
He is accused on five counts of engaging in illicit s*xual relationships overseas and on one count of having materials intended for child exploitation.
The lawyer is accused of travelling to Cambodia between February and May 2019 and paying four youngsters to repeatedly assault them. All of them are under the age of 15.
Rugh James Cline’s Court Proceedings
The alleged child r*pist made his initial court appearance on June 7 in Tampa and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
Cline was released on a $100,000 bond last Monday with the condition that he be kept under 24-hour home detention with GPS monitoring because of the severity of his alleged crimes.
According to the reports, he is prohibited from communicating with children or using the internet while under home detention.
Cline may spend up to 30 years in federal prison for each count of having unfettered s*x overseas if he is found guilty. Additionally, he might face an extra 20 years for having child p**nography.
A non-governmental outfit called Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) looks into alleged foreign paedophiles in Cambodia. In 2019, WFLA reported that victims informed Cambodian Law Enforcement that Cline has given $120 to each of them for the countless acts of abuse.
After being convicted in 2021 of paying to assault minor females, the disgraced lawyer spent two and a half years in prison in Cambodia.
Each victim who was under 15 at the time of the assault received $3,750 in compensation and a $200 court fine.
#Florida lawyer is deported back to the #US and put under 24-hour house arrest awaiting federal trial after he 'paid to rape four children while in #Cambodia
#RughJamesCline #Monday #SaveTheChildren
This is not CULTURE!https://t.co/Z97YHS5hHq pic.twitter.com/KTOkA3X1X8— ⚖️The Justice Team⚖️ (@LawDog323E) July 3, 2023
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