Northeastern admissions counselor arrested on child pornography charges

A Northeastern University admissions counselor was arrested Tuesday on child pornography charges. 

Beau Christopher Benson, 35, was charged with possession and receipt of child pornography, according to the office of Acting United States Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy. Prosecutors allege that in April 2023, law enforcement was notified that Benson participated in Zoom video chat rooms used to share and view child sexual abuse material. The 35-year-old allegedly recorded his participation in the chat rooms and saved the recordings — which featured videos of child sexual abuse material and his conversations about the materials with others — to his social media account. 

Prosecutors also allege that Benson uploaded two files containing child sexual abuse material to a Dropbox account that depicted children who appear to be between the ages of 2 and 4 years old.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the charge of receipt of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, while the charge of possession of child pornography can result in a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.

Benson appeared in federal court on Tuesday and was detained pending a detention hearing, according to Levy’s office.