BOSTON – A Filipino national has been arrested and charged in Boston, Mass. with transportation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Bobby Prieto, 35, was arrested yesterday and charged by criminal complaint with one count of transportation of child pornography. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, Pietro was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for Oct. 1, 2026.

According to the charging documents, prior to Prieto’s arrest, he had been serving as a crew member on the Norwegian Jewel, a cruise ship owned by the Norwegian Cruise Line. The vessel docked at Boston’s Flynn Cruiseport on Sept. 24, 2026, and Prieto was flagged for secondary screening by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. During a preliminary review of two mobile phones belonging to Prieto, multiple media files were identified, allegedly depicting CSAM, including at least one media file depicting Prieto sexually assaulting a prepubescent girl. The charge of transportation of child pornography provides for a sentence of no less than 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 Jeff Grimming, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Customs and Border Protection, Boston Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aidan Lang 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.