A former Master Sergeant of the Massachusetts National Guard, Nicholas Wells, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Wells, 45, was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
Wells was previously assigned to the 102nd Security Forces Squadron in Sandwich, Massachusetts. He pleaded guilty in September 2025 to federal charges involving the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material after being indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024.
According to court documents and a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Wells used an encrypted messaging application to engage in conversations about his interest in minors and to distribute illegal digital material.
A forensic examination of his mobile phone uncovered more than 300 images and more than 100 videos depicting child sexual abuse.
Investigators also determined that Wells had distributed more than 70 videos containing illegal material, including some involving infants.
“Nicholas Wells, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 78 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The statement added that Wells had been indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2024 before pleading guilty to the charges in September 2025.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, commended the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation following the sentencing.
The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Criminal Division, with investigative and operational support from the Massachusetts State Police, the Barnstable Police Department and the Sandwich Police Department.
The case was prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the exploitation of children and coordinate efforts among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to identify offenders and protect victims.