"In May of 2024, authorities began an investigation into an online, encrypted chat application user who belonged to a group described as a place for "dads, uncles, and babysitters" to chat, share live material, and meet up. "The group required prospective members to verify their status as a male guardian or family member by uploading a nude photo of a child under 13 years old, next to a handwritten sign bearing the group's name," officials said."
"In a search of Sheerer's residence in Boston, where he was arrested and charged in July 2024, multiple chats were discovered on his phone, several of which contained sexual abuse pictures and videos involving children as young as infants, according to the release. Authorities seized several devices, including Sheerer's phone, a tablet, and computers, for further forensic analysis. "Forensic analysis showed that Sheerer was involved in dozens of chats with users of the encrypted application, several of which included the exchange of CSAM," officials said."
Christopher Sheerer, 37, pleaded guilty to one count each of distribution and possession of child pornography and one count of sexual exploitation of children. Sentencing is set for Dec. 18. Sheerer previously worked as a pediatric cardiac anesthesiology fellow at Johns Hopkins and at Boston Children's Hospital. In May 2024, investigators targeted an encrypted chat group described as a place for "dads, uncles, and babysitters" that required members to upload a nude photo of a child under 13 with a handwritten sign. Sheerer uploaded imagery of a child known to him to gain admission. Multiple chats and seized devices contained sexual abuse images and videos, including material involving infants, and forensic analysis showed exchanges of CSAM in dozens of chats.
Read at Boston.com
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