Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NORFOLK, Va. – A former U.S. Navy sailor pled guilty today to receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
According to court documents, from January 11, 2023, to March 23, 2023, Gabriel Benjamin Hester, 27, who at the time was an active-duty service member stationed in Portsmouth, uploaded seven files of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
On Aug. 22, 2023, investigators with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) executed a Command Authorized Search and Seizure for Hester’s cellphone aboard the USS John Warner Barge. On Aug. 25, 2023, NCIS executed a search warrant for Hester’s phone. NCIS recovered 206 pictures and 62 videos of CSAM and 71 images of child erotica. An additional 60 files of CSAM were recovered from the Snapchat folder “my eyes only.”
The search of Hester’s phone revealed that Hester received, purchased, traded, and distributed CSAM using the Telegram messaging app. For example, on April 27, 2023, Hester asked another Telegram user, “You have cp?” and requested to exchange files. Hester then sent two videos of CSAM and asked, “Bueno?” Hester then received three CSAM videos and thanked the sender. Hester followed by asking the user in Spanish if he had more CSAM videos. Hester sent two more CSAM videos and asked the user to trade. Hester received four more CSAM video files.
Hester is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Mack Hickman, Special Agent in Charge of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask accepted the plea.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-127.