Boston Man Arrested on Federal Child Pornography Charge

 BOSTON – A Boston man was arrested yesterday and charged with a child pornography offense.

Paul Fest, 50, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of possession of child pornography. Following an initial appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald L. Cabell, Fest was detained pending a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for Dec. 18, 2020.

According to the charging documents, agents executed a search warrant at Fest’s Beacon Hill residence yesterday morning and seized a computer and multiple external storage devices. During the preliminary on-scene review of one thumb drive, nearly 100 videos of child pornography were discovered.

Due to his prior felony conviction, Fest faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; David Magdycz, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Dell’Anno of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

The details contained in the criminal complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.