Longtime Mass. magician pleads guilty to child pornography charges

Crime

Scott Jameson regularly performed at libraries and family events throughout New England, usually for children as young as kindergarten age.

A Massachusetts man who worked as a children’s magician for more than 20 years pleaded guilty Tuesday to child pornography charges, according to federal prosecutors.

Scott Jameson, 46, of Sutton, pleaded guilty to one count of illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of transportation of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said in a news release. 

The charges stem from a trip Jameson took to Cambodia last year. He was charged by a criminal complaint in October 2022.

  • Local children’s magician arrested on child pornography charge involving Cambodian youth

As a magician, Jameson regularly performed at libraries and at private and family events throughout New England, often for children as young as kindergarten age, prosecutors said. 

In early 2022, Action Pour Les Enfants — a Cambodian group focused on preventing child sexual abuse and exploitation — reported to federal authorities that Jameson had engaged in inappropriate behavior with minors in Cambodia, according to the news release. 

Jameson traveled from Boston to Cambodia again in August 2022; U.S. authorities stopped him at Logan Airport upon his return that October. 

According to prosecutors, a search of his belongings turned up a video showing the genitals of a young boy between the ages of 5 and 7. Jameson admitted to creating the video and transferring it from his camera to a hard drive that was in his possession when he was stopped at Logan, prosecutors said. 

He is scheduled for sentencing on March 7, 2024. The charge of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. The child pornography charge, meanwhile, carries a prison sentence of five to 20 years, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office urged anyone with questions, concerns, or information on the case to call 617-748-3274.

If you have questions or concerns about child sexual abuse, you can call or text the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.