Joshua S. Levy, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
A Dorchester resident has been sentenced to five years in prison following charges related to child pornography. Beau Christopher Benson, aged 36, received the sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun in a federal court in Boston. In addition to the prison term, Benson will undergo five years of supervised release.
In March 2024, Benson entered a guilty plea for receiving child pornography after being charged by criminal complaint in November 2023. Authorities were alerted in April 2023 about Benson's involvement in Zoom video chat rooms where child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was shared and viewed. Investigations revealed that Benson recorded these sessions and saved the footage on his social media account.
Further examination led to the discovery of approximately 15 video files depicting CSAM stored in his Dropbox account. Additionally, he was identified as having uploaded two files containing CSAM, featuring children aged between two and four years old.
The announcement of the sentencing was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David G. Tobin from the Major Crimes Unit.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at addressing child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. This program is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices alongside the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section to coordinate resources for apprehending offenders and rescuing victims.
