SICK: Former CIA Agent Convicted Of Child Pornography Charges

A former CIA agent has been convicted on charges of possessing thousands of child sexual abuse images.

Ex-CIA software engineer Joshua Schulte has been convicted for a second time after a Manhattan jury concluded Schulte possessed over 3,000 images of child sexual abuse on his computer.

Schulte has yet to be sentenced but he’s expected to receive a decades-long prison sentence.

Previously Schulte was convicted of sharing CIA secrets that exposed the “CIA’s hacking of Apple and Android smartphones for overseas spying operations.”

Former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) software engineer, Joshua Schulte, who was previously convicted for disclosing secret CIA information to WikiLeaks in 2017, was charged on Wednesday for the possession of over 3,000 images and videos of child porn https://t.co/mHJebypHjq

— *Delta♤Gun™* D1/4 (@Gun_DeltaFMF) September 14, 2023

Joshua Adam Schulte convicted after trial of multiple child pornography crimes@NewYorkFBI https://t.co/OtXBNyv20P

— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) September 13, 2023

Here’s what the National Pulse reported:

Former CIA employee Joshua Schulte has been convicted for a second time on charges of possessing thousands of child sexual abuse images. The conviction was delivered by a jury in Manhattan federal court, who presented evidence that Schulte had over 3,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse hidden in encrypted areas of his home desktop computer. Schulte, who was previously convicted for releasing agency secrets through WikiLeaks in 2017, could face decades in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for January 10.

ADVERTISEMENT

The so-called Vault 7 leak, orchestrated by Schulte, exposed the CIA’s hacking of Apple and Android smartphones for overseas spying operations. It also revealed efforts to turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices.

In his position as a coder at the agency’s headquarters in Virginia, Schulte had helped create these hacking tools. A mistrial was declared in Schulte’s original 2020 trial due to jurors deadlocking on serious counts such as illegal gathering and transmission of national defense information. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams released a statement acknowledging Schulte’s accountability for endangering both national security and children. Schulte, 34, has been held in custody without bail since 2018. His lawyer declined to comment on the recent conviction.

Some users on X believe Schulte was framed:

BREAKING: Ex-CIA software engineer Joshua Schulte who was convicted of biggest leak of classified information now faces trial on child porn charges.

In 2022, Schulte was convicted on all charges of leaking classified information to WikiLeaks in 2017.

Now he stands trial over… pic.twitter.com/77L9XpMLFe

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) September 12, 2023

Per AP:

A former CIA software engineer already convicted in the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history was convicted Wednesday on charges 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.