Arlington Man Sentenced To 10 Years In Prison For Child Pornography

ARLINGTON, MA — An Arlington man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession of child pornography, said U.S. Attorney Rachel Rollins.

Mason Lister, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. On Dec. 16, 2021, Lister pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

“My office has a responsibility to ensure the safety of our communities, especially that of our most vulnerable – children. Mr. Lister is a recidivist offender, a three-time convicted felon, who will now thankfully remain out of our communities and away from our children for the next decade,” Rollins said in a statement. “With the full support of our state, local and tribal law enforcement partners, we remain committed to protecting our children and prosecuting those who seek to exploit them.”

This case arose from a notice to law enforcement that a social media account belonging to Lister had been used to distribute child pornography, Rollins said. On July 23, 2020, a search of Lister’s residence resulted in the seizure of a tablet device containing at least 85 files of child pornography. The mix of files were both images and videos and depicted victims as young as toddler age.

Lister was arrested on Aug. 14, 2020, and has remained in federal custody since. He has two previous state convictions for child pornography offenses.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative created in 2006 by the the Department of Justice to protect children from exploitation and abuse. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.