Merrillville Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

HAMMOND – Steven Ruschak, 31 years old, of Merrillville, Indiana, was sentenced by District Court Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen on his plea of guilty to possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II.

Ruschak was sentenced to 70 months imprisonment followed by 5 years supervised release and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. 

According to court documents, between September 2012 and October 2015, Ruschak downloaded and received child pornography from the internet, including the dark web.  Over the course of several years, Ruschak collected over 9,000 still images and over 200 videos of child pornography including numerous visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and child pornography depicting torture and violence against children. 

This case was investigated by the FBI with the assistance of the Indiana State Police and Michigan City Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Abizer Zanzi.

###