Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A Gloucester resident, Robert Burnham, 44, has been arrested and charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Authorities allege that between June and October 2024, Burnham coerced a 13-year-old girl into producing sexually explicit images and videos which were sent to him through social media.
According to the charging documents, Burnham met the victim on Snapchat by claiming he was in her grade. He then allegedly began asking about people she knew and sent her an image from her father’s Facebook account. Prosecutors state that Burnham told the minor he possessed explicit photos of her and threatened to send them to her father if she did not comply with his demands for more images and videos.
Burnham is also accused of instructing the victim to create an account on JusTalk, a messaging application based in China, where their conversations continued. Over four months, authorities say Burnham gave detailed instructions for creating explicit content and used threats when the victim did not respond as directed. The charging documents allege that he threatened violence against the victim.
Investigators further allege that Burnham communicated with other minors via Snapchat, making similar threats regarding nude images. He is reported to have exchanged messages with two users who identified themselves as 12 years old.
Burnham made his initial appearance in federal court in Boston following his arrest and remains detained pending a hearing scheduled for September 8, 2025. If convicted of sexual exploitation of a minor, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, at least five years up to life on supervised release, and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies (https://www.justice.gov/psc).
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Harper County Sheriff’s Office, FBI Kansas City and the Gloucester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.”
“The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
