Brighton Man Charged with Receipt of Child Pornography

BOSTON - A Brighton man has been arrested and charged with receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

John Tapley, 33, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography. Tapley was arrested at his home yesterday, and following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for April 6, 2026.

According to the charging documents, Tapley was identified as a member of 15 group chats on the Signal messenger application. Many of these chats had group names that were indicative of the exchange of CSAM. During a search of Tapley's residence yesterday, it is alleged that five CSAM files were found to have been received by Tapley on his Signal account. The victims in these videos appeared to be between approximately seven and 11 years old.

The charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by United States Postal Inspection Service and Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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.

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