NEWARK, N.J. — A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark investigation led to the arrest of a British citizen for possessing child sexual abuse material and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.
Stephen Hudson, 53, of Ealing, England, pleaded guilty at the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark on July 24.
“HSI is at the forefront in the fight to end child sexual exploitation. Our global reach, experience and extensive knowledge of the cyber domain allow us to rapidly develop cases like the one against Stephen Hudson,” said HSI Newark acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker. “Dedicated agents, criminal analysts and task force officers work quickly and decisively to protect children from dangerous predators who seek to exploit them for their own greed or self-gratification.”
According to investigation, from April 14, 2022, to May 6, 2022, Hudson used an encrypted email account to communicate with undercover federal law enforcement officers to facilitate his access to and sexual abuse of two minor female children. Hudson agreed to travel from Massachusetts to New Jersey and pay approximately $1,200 in cash in exchange for engaging in sexual acts with 11- and 12-year-old girls, supplying Hudson with illicit drugs, and administering the illicit drugs and alcohol to the girls.
On May 6, 2022, Hudson traveled to an agreed-upon location in New Jersey for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity with the two minors and provided approximately $1,200 in cash to the undercover law enforcement agents as previously agreed. After providing the cash to law enforcement, Hudson was arrested.
A subsequent search of a laptop computer belonging to Hudson revealed 1,751 images depicting child sexual abuse, including material portraying prepubescent children under the age of 12 and material portraying the sexual abuse and exploitation of infants and toddlers.
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About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.