A Dorchester man who formerly worked as an admissions counselor at Northeastern University pleaded guilty on Friday to to receiving child sexual abuse material obtained via Zoom chat rooms.
Beau Christopher Benson, 35, pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography after his arrest in November, Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said in a statement. U.S. District Court Judge Myong Joun scheduled sentencing for July 8.
In April 2023, authorities were notified that Benson participated in Zoom video chat rooms used to share and view child sexual abuse material, Levy said. The files depicted children who appear to be approximately two to four years old.
Benson recorded his participation in the chat rooms and saved the recordings – which featured videos of child sexual abuse material and conversations between Benson and others about the child sexual abuse material – to his social media account, Levy said.
Approximately 15 video files depicting child sexual abuse material were found saved in his Dropbox. In addition, Benson was identified as an online user who had uploaded two files containing child sexual abuse material to a Dropbox account.
Benson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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