Providence Man Arrested, Detained on Federal Child Pornography Charges

PROVIDENCE, RI - A Providence man arrested early Wednesday has been ordered detained in federal custody on child pornography charges, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

James Moses, 30, is charged by way of a federal criminal complaint with distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

It is alleged in charging documents that Moses uploaded sexually explicit videos involving prepubescent males and adult males during online communications on multiple platforms, and that he allegedly was found to have stored videos of child pornography on personal digital devices.

In May 2024, an FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force Officer assigned to the FBI Washington, D.C. Field Office established online accounts posing as a person interested in the sexual exploitation of children. It is alleged that in mid-May Moses responded to the undercover officer's posting and began a series of discussions about his interest in having sexual contact with minors. During the discussion, which lasted for more than two weeks, Moses allegedly sent the undercover officer explicit videos of illicit sexual contact involving adult males and prepubescent males.

On July 15, 2024, as part of their investigation of Moses, FBI Providence contacted the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. Agents learned that the ICAC Task Force was in the midst of a separate investigation into Moses allegedly being in possession of child pornography. On July 17, 2024, members of the ICAC Task Force executed a state court authorized search of Moses residence. During a brief forensic review of Moses' electronic devices, a member of ICAC Task Force allegedly identified more than 100 videos of child pornography. Moses was arrested on a Rhode Island state charge of possession of child pornography and was released on $2,500 bail with surety following his arraignment in Rhode Island state court.

Moses was arrested today by the FBI on the federal criminal complaint charging him with distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. He was ordered detained in federal custody at his initial appearance in U.S. District Court.

This Project Safe Childhood case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald R. Gendron.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc

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