Former Newton Daycare Worker Charged with Child Porn In Arlington - Again

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington Police arrested an Arlington man - a former Newton daycare worker who'd been arrested on similar charges last year - and charged him with possession and distribution of child pornography today.

Mason Lister, 22, of Lancaster Road was arrested and charged with two counts of Possession of Visual Material of a Child in the State of Nudity or Sexual Conduct, Distribution of Visual Material of a Child in the State of Nudity or Sexual Conduct and Probation Violation. Police noted he was "known to Police," which is often police speak for they'd had interactions with him in the past.

In fact, last year Patch reported police alleged that Lister, a former Newton daycare worker, who did not work with children, traded obscene images of children using social media platforms. He formerly worked at Family ACCESS day care on Waltham Street in Newton.

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Earlier today, members of the Arlington Police Criminal Investigation Bureau working with the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force served a search warrant at his home and found a cell phone with several images of what they described as child pornography. Police said Lister allegedly used the social networking website Skout.com to trade explicit images of children.

"The Arlington Police Department takes an extremely strong stance on child exploitation, and we dedicate resources to not only finding missing and exploited children, but also rooting out those who create, distribute, or possess depictions of child sexual abuse," Chief Ryan said. "We will continue to pursue these felons in an aggressive manner."

He is being held pending arraignment at Cambridge District Court.

These are allegations. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Booking photo of Mason Lister courtesy of Arlington Police