British Man Sentenced to 140 Months in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography and Traveling with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct

NEWARK, N.J. - A British citizen was sentenced to 140 months' imprisonment for possessing multiple images of child sexual abuse and traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.

Stephen Hudson, 54, of Ealing, England, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court on February 10, 2026, to an information charging him with possession of child pornography and travelling with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From April 14, 2022 to May 6, 2022, Hudson communicated with undercover agents using an encrypted email account, in an attempt to make arrangements to sexually abuse two minor female children. Hudson agreed to travel from Massachusetts to New Jersey and pay approximately $1,200 in cash in exchange for, among other things: engaging in sexual acts with minor girls; illicit drugs that he planned to administer with alcohol to the minor girls. On May 6, 2022, Hudson traveled to an agreed-upon location in New Jersey to have sex with the two minors and provided approximately $1,200 in cash to the undercover law enforcement agents as previously agreed. After providing the cash to law enforcement, Hudson was arrested.

A search of Hudson's laptop revealed 1,751 images of child sexual abuse, including material portraying prepubescent minors and the sexual abuse and exploitation of infants and toddlers.

In addition to a prison term, Judge Farbiarz sentenced Hudson to 5 years of supervised release.

Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, with the investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Nadel of the Narcotics/International Trafficking Unit in Newark.

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Defense counsel: Rahul Sharma Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark