Who is Rugh James Cline? Florida attorney deported back to US after spending years in Cambodian prison for sexually abusing kids

After serving 2.5 years in a Cambodian prison for sexually abusing four children, a Florida lawyer was deported back to the US; he now faces 170 years in prison in the US if found guilty of child sex offences.

Who is Rugh James Cline?

The Department of Justice indicted Rugh James Cline, 40, in February 2021, two years after his detention in Cambodia. He is presently being held under house arrest at his home in Tampa.

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According to the DOJ, he is charged with five counts of having illegal sexual relations abroad and one count of possessing materials for child exploitation.

The attorney is charged with visiting Cambodia between February and May of 2019 and paying four minors, all under the age of 15, to engage in repeated acts of sexual assault.

Court Proceedings

On June 7 in Tampa, the suspected child rapist made his initial court appearance and entered a not guilty plea to the accusations against him.

Given the seriousness of his alleged crimes, Cline was released on a $100,000 bond last Monday with the requirement that he be placed under 24-hour home detention with GPS monitoring.

The DOJ states that while he is in home detention, he cannot use the internet or interact with kids in any way.

In the event that he is found guilty, Cline faces a maximum term of 30 years in federal prison for each count of engaging in unrestricted sexual activity abroad and an additional 20 years for possessing child pornography.

Despite having earned a law degree from the University of Miami School of Law in 2010, Cline has not been permitted to practise law in Florida because of “delinquent fees,” according to The Florida Bar.

It is unknown when he last worked as a lawyer in Florida, however the Florida Bar stated in 2021 that the charges resulting from his conduct in Cambodia did not “affect his ability to practice law.”

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After the victims told Cambodian law enforcement that the lawyer had paid $120 to each of them for the numerous acts of abuse, Cline was identified by Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE), a non-governmental organization that looks into suspected foreign pedophiles in Cambodia, WFLA reported back in 2019.

The disgraced lawyer received two and a half years in a Cambodian prison after being found guilty in 2021 of paying to assault the minor females.

All of the victims, who were under 15 at the time of the assault, received $3,750 in compensation from him as well as a $200 court punishment.