Williams: "The career prosecutors in this Office are dedicated to securing justice for the most vulnerable victims of sexual abuse and exploitation".
On September 13, Joshua Adam Schulte was found guilty of multiple child pornography offenses after a trial. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the conviction. The charges against Schulte included receiving, possessing, and transporting child pornography.
The conviction was the result of the discovery of an encrypted cache of over 3,000 pictures and videos depicting the sexual abuse of young children on Schulte's computer. After a three-day jury trial, the defendant, a former programmer for the CIA, was found guilty. This came after previous convictions for espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, and making false statements to the FBI in connection with the largest theft of classified information in CIA history.
Schulte had constructed a unique desktop computer in 2016 and downloaded over 15,000 examples of child erotica and pornography. He kept his collection in encrypted areas on his computer. After moving to New York, he continued to gather child pornography from the dark web and Russian websites. The FBI recovered and searched Schulte's computer in March 2017 during an investigation into his theft of secret information. They were able to decrypt his hidden collection using passwords found on his cellphone.
The FBI's search revealed that Schulte had gathered and viewed materials depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as two years old, including disturbing acts of bestiality and sadomasochism. The discovery of this evidence further solidified the charges against him.
The conviction of Joshua Adam Schulte serves as a testament to the dedication of career prosecutors in the Southern District of New York in securing justice for the most vulnerable victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. The successful prosecution and subsequent sentencing of Schulte will hopefully bring some closure to the victims and send a strong message that such crimes will not be tolerated. The efforts of law enforcement, particularly the FBI, in investigating and uncovering Schulte's criminal activities demonstrate their commitment to protecting society's most vulnerable members.
