Vacaville man who sexually exploited runaway girl convicted

(KRON) — A Vacaville man is facing up to three decades in prison for sexually exploiting an underage girl who ran away from home.

Michael Keith Rubino, 37, of Vacaville, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor on August 21, federal prosecutors said.

An investigation into Rubino began in November 2024, when the victim went to a hospital. The Vacaville Police Department said the runaway girl was homeless for two weeks before Rubino approached her and offered to let her live in his house on Overland Place.

“Once at his house, Mr. Rubino reportedly threatened the girl with violence if she attempted to leave and began forcing her to engage in sexual acts with him. He also facilitated her engaging sexual acts with his friends and received payment for doing so,” VPD wrote.

The girl lived in Rubino’s home for six weeks in late 2024, according to prosecutors. During that time, he used his iPhone to record videos of himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with the girl, prosecutors said.

He also allegedly planned to post the videos online to make money, VPD said.

Rubino was convicted last month in federal court of sexual exploitation of a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of California said.

U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley will sentence Rubino on Nov. 11. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

The Vacaville Police Department wrote Wednesday, “Human trafficking and the production of child pornography, or Child Sexual Assault Material (CSAM), are appalling crimes that are unfortunately, far more commonplace than many believe.”

Resources and support can be accessed by calling Solano County Human Trafficking Crisis Line at 530-796-1889.