Former North Shore police officer gets prison time for child porn charge

A former Gloucester police officer was sentenced on Monday after he pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge in October, prosecutors said.

Alexander Aiello, 37, was sentenced to four years in prison and five years of supervised release, the office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, Leah Foley, said in a statement.

In October 2025, Aiello pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography after police found hundreds of files of child sexual abuse material on a heavily encrypted thumb drive, prosecutors said.

Ariello was an identified registered user of a website that allows users to access, distribute, and post child pornography. Ariello visited the website several times between 2024 and 2025 , Foley said. 

On April 28, 2025, police searched Aiello’s home and collected his cell phone, laptop, and a USB thumb drive found in his bedside drawer, prosecutors said. 

During an examination of his devices, federal investigators found an active Tor Browser — an application that allows users to anonymously surf the internet and access hidden dark web services — with “downloaded files consistent with recent use,” Foley’s office said.

While searching the thumb drive, low enforcement found more than 200 files of child sexual abuse material, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Aiello, at the time a patrol officer in Gloucester, was placed on administrative leave in April 2025. He was charged on in May 2025.

“Those who seek out this despicable material are perpetuating the victimization of innocent children. That’s why the FBI Boston’s Child Exploitation–Human Trafficking Task Force diligently pursues these cases. Protecting kids from this physical and emotional trauma is our priority,” James Crowley, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Boston Division, said in the press release.