Now former 34-year-old Massachusetts police officer sentenced for possessing child sexual abuse material

BOSTON – A former police officer with the Gloucester Police Department has been sentenced for possessing child sexual abuse material. 

According to a release from the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 34-year-old Alexander Aiello of Gloucester, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to four years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In October 2025, Aiello pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography. 

On several occasions in 2024 and 2025, Aiello accessed a website on the dark web that was dedicated to downloading, viewing, advertising and distributing CSAM. Searches of Aiello’s person and residence on April 28, 2025 resulted in the seizure of the defendant’s cell phone and laptop as well as a USB thumb drive, which was found in Aiello’s nightstand in his bedroom.

An examination of the devices revealed that a TOR Browser – an application that provides anonymous web access and access to dark web hidden services – was installed and actively running on Aiello’s laptop with evidence of downloaded files consistent with recent use. The USB drive was thoroughly encrypted and Aiello contained more than 200 files consistent with CSAM.

United States Attorney Leah Foley and Ted Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Gloucester Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm, Project Safe Childhood Coordinator and a member of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted 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.