An emergency medical technician from Salem, Connor McAuliffe, 34, was arrested and charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. The arrest took place at his residence, and following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, McAuliffe was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for August 12, 2025.
The charges stem from an investigation that began after the South African Police Service in Pretoria identified McAuliffe as a member of a large encrypted messaging group dedicated to trading child sexual abuse material. According to the charging documents, this group included over 1,000 members worldwide. Further investigation allegedly found McAuliffe involved in at least 14 other similar chat groups on the same application.
Authorities reported that during a search of McAuliffe’s home in March 2025, his cellphone was seized. A forensic review of the device allegedly showed participation in about 100 chats across multiple messaging applications related to sharing child sexual abuse material. Investigators say they discovered roughly 1,500 images and 50 videos depicting such material stored on the device. Some files reportedly depicted abuse or exploitation of minor boys aged approximately nine to eleven years old.
McAuliffe holds an active paramedic certification with the Massachusetts Office of Health & Human Services and is employed by an emergency services company as an EMT.
For those convicted of receipt of child pornography, federal law provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to twenty years in prison, along with supervised release and fines. Possession carries penalties of up to twenty years imprisonment plus supervised release and fines. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge according to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
Anyone with questions or information regarding this case can contact authorities by phone or email as provided by officials.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated: “United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Salem Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Maynard of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.”
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice aimed at combating child sexual exploitation through collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies (https://www.justice.gov/psc).
Officials emphasized that all details within charging documents are allegations; defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in court.
