Former TSA screener sentenced on child pornography charge

BOSTON – A Massachusetts man was sentenced in federal court for possession of child pornography. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), along with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Andrew Cheever, 34, of Lowell, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 41 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Cheever pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography Dec. 12, 2011.

According to court documents, Cheever made child pornography available on the Internet through peer-to-peer software. Thousands of child pornography images and videos were found on computers and media in his home.

At sentencing, Judge Gorton imposed an additional condition that Cheever read victim impact statements of six children depicted in the child pornography he collected. Cheever had been employed with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) since 2007, and was a security checkpoint screener at Boston's Logan International Airport. He was taken into custody Sept. 9, 2011, and has been in custody since that time.

HSI's ongoing efforts to target suspects involved in child exploitation offenses are part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.