Convicted Cape Cod Sex Offender Indicted On New Charges

HARWICH, MA — A Cape Cod sex offender was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on child pornography offenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts announced.

Jonathan Fleischmann, 35, of Harwich, was recently indicted on one count of possession of child pornography. Fleischmann was previously arrested and charged on May 16, 2023, and remains in federal custody.

According to the charging documents, Fleischmann’s co-workers reported to law enforcement that, between March 17 and March 18, 2023, Fleischmann’s cellphone was allegedly observed downloading suspected child pornography files while his phone was left open and charging on a counter at their workplace.

A subsequent search of Fleischmann’s cellphone allegedly identified approximately 255 image files and 55 video files that contained suspected child pornography, officials said.

Fleischmann is currently facing separate state charges in Barnstable Superior Court for allegedly invading a Yarmouth home and forcibly taking a 16-year-old female at gunpoint into her house as she arrived home from school in 2020, officials said.

That investigation allegedly revealed that Fleishmann had accessed a dark web hidden service on his cellphone dedicated to the trafficking of child pornography. The case remains pending.

Fleishmann is a Level 3 sex offender due to prior convictions in Barnstable District Court of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in 2006, and open and gross lewdness in 2017.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.