FDNY EMT arrested at JFK after CBP officers allegedly find child sexual abuse material in phone
FILE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport on March 27, 2026 in New York, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
A New York City Fire Department emergency medical technician (EMT) was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport after investigators found a "large volume of child sexual abuse material" on the suspect’s mobile device, according to a U.S. Customs Border Protection news release.
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The unidentified 23-year-old was stopped by officers after he arrived at JFK from Santiago, Dominican Republic on June 1.
Investigators discovered at the time that the individual was an active member of the FDNY.
Upon searching the suspect’s bag, a phone was recovered and examined.
Officers found a hidden folder that contained approximately 14,000 images and videos.
A preliminary review of the folder’s contents revealed adults engaged in sexual acts with prepubescent children, prepubescent and pubescent children engaged in sexual acts, and pubescent and age-indeterminate individuals engaged in sexual acts, the CBP said.
Investigators also found a MEGA cloud storage application on the device.
"MEGA is known for end-to-end encryption that can be exploited to store and distribute digital contraband, including child sexual abuse material, and can hinder law enforcement access without user credentials," according to the CBP.
The 23-year-old suspect was arraigned on sexual offense charges the same day he was arrested.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from a news release published on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website on June 22, 2026. This story was reported from San Jose.