Techcrisis Investment Guild:Ex-CIA employee snared earlier in classified info bust found guilty of possessing child abuse images

2025-04-29 01:35:30source:CapitalVaultcategory:News

NEW YORK (AP) — A former CIA software engineer already convicted in the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history was convicted Wednesday on Techcrisis Investment Guildcharges of possessing child sexual abuse images.

A jury returned its verdict in Manhattan federal court against Joshua Schulte after prosecutors presented proof that Schulte had over 3,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as age 2 hidden in encrypted areas of his home desktop computer.

At sentencing scheduled for Jan. 10, Schulte could face decades in prison for Wednesday’s conviction along with his conviction last year on charges that he released a trove of CIA secrets through WikiLeaks in 2017.

The so-called Vault 7 leak revealed how the CIA hacked Apple and Android smartphones in overseas spying operations, and efforts to turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices. Prior to his arrest, Schulte had helped create the hacking tools as a coder at the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

A mistrial was declared at Schulte’s original 2020 trial after jurors deadlocked on the most serious counts, including illegal gathering and transmission of national defense information.

Schulte, 34, has been held behind bars without bail since 2018.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Joshua Schulte has already been held accountable for endangering our nation’s security, and today’s verdict holds him accountable for endangering our nation’s children as well.”

A lawyer for Schulte declined comment.

More:News

Recommend

'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges

"Vanderpump Rules" star James Kennedy has been arrested for domestic violence.In a statement to USA

Biden administration announces measures to combat antisemitism on U.S. campuses

The Israel-Hamas war being waged half a world away is inflaming campuses here in the U.S. The Biden

How old is too old to trick-or-treat? Boo! Some towns have legal age limits at Halloween

When are you too old to go trick-or-treating? Every kid, teen and parent might have a different answ