View of the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse where Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Intelligence Wing is expected to plead guilty later today in Boston, Massachusetts on March 4, 2024. Prosecutors requested a change of plea hearing for March 4, at which Teixeira will confirm his decision to reverse his current plea of not guilty. The Massachusetts Air National Guard IT specialist was arrested in April for allegedly orchestrating the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade, some of which concerned the war in Ukraine. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso / AFP)
A master sergeant with the Massachusetts National Guard has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on charges of possession and distribution of child sex abuse images, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Nicholas Wells, 43, allegedly engaged in chats on a messaging application in which he allegedly discussed his interest in minors and distributed videos depicting child sex abuse.
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Wells is a master sergeant with the 102 Security Forces of the Massachusetts National Guard stationed in Sandwich.
Prosecutors allege that, following search warrants for Wells’ messaging application account and home, over 300 images and 100 videos depicting child sex abuse were located on his phone, along with evidence that he distributed over 70 videos depicting child sex abuse. Some of the images involved infants.
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The charge of possessing child sex abuse images provides for a sentence up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine up to $250,000, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The charge of distributing child sex abuse images provides for a sentence of at leave five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
Wells was originally arrested in October, and following an initial appearance in federal court agreed to voluntary detention pending trial.
