Registered Sex Offender Arrested on Child Pornography Charge in Massachusetts

A Lowell man was arrested Thursday and charged in connection with receiving child pornography over Snapchat.

Chayanne Nieves, 23, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography. Following an initial appearance today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, Nieves was detained pending a probable cause and detention hearing scheduled for Aug. 24, 2021.

According to the charging document, from around Nov. 30, 2020 until Dec. 3, 2020, Nieves communicated on Snapchat with an 11-year-old girl in Vermont. During those communications, Nieves threatened and extorted the victim to send him nude photographs of herself. During a search of Nieves’s residence in Lowell, Nieves confirmed that the Snapchat account used to communicate with the child was his. Nieves is a Level 3 registered sex offender.

Based on Nieves’s criminal history, the charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a sentence of at least 15 years and up to 40 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 judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Colonel Matthew Birmingham, Director of the Vermont State Police, made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lowell Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Dell’Anno of Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

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