Charlestown Man Faces More Child Pornography Charges

A Charlestown man is facing additional child pornography possession charges following his arraignment Friday in Suffolk Superior Court.

James Mansfield, 47, of Charlestown was arrested in October after police executed a search warrant at his home and found evidence that Mansfield was allegedly engaging in “graphically sexual chats and exchanging photographs of boys in various stages of undress,” according to the Boston Police Department report.

Following his arrest, Mansfield, an executive assistant with the Boston Transportation Department, was placed on leave.

Boston Police detectives turned their focus on Mansfield after receiving a “cybertip” last year from the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force about online chats that discussed "explicit sexual activity with young boys,” Assistant District Attorney Gloriann Moroney said at Mansfield’s arraignment in superior court.

“The chat was traced to Mansfield’s iPhone, and, during the course of the investigation, multiple specimens of child pornography were discovered on a computer belonging to Mansfield,” prosecutors said at the hearing.

At the time, Mansfield was charged with two counts of possession of child pornography, but at his arraignment Friday following his Feb. 28 indictment by the Suffolk County Grand Jury, the Charlestown resident was charged with two additional counts, according to a press release from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Mansfield remained held on $20,000 bail and upon his release must wear a GPS monitor, refrain from using computers and the Internet and have no contact with children under age 16, including his own children, according to the DA's office.

In addition, he must not use alcohol or illicit drugs and must stay away from schools, libraries, parks and other locations where children typically congregate.

He is due back in court on May 13 for a pretrial conference.