Londonderry Man Arrested On 23 Child Sexual Abuse Images Charges

LONDONDERRY, NH — A local man is facing nearly two dozen felony charges after a multi-month investigation by police in Londonderry as well as the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Alexander William Thickins, 24, of Lantern Lane in Londonderry was arrested on Saturday on 23 felony counts of possession of child sexual abuse images.

According to a court affidavit, on Jan. 11, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip from Instagram, which was then passed it on to the task force. The tip stated that three files, containing child sex abuse images, were uploaded on Dec. 14, 2020. The tip also included a user name, a gmail address, account number, and Internet Protocol address. The center reported the IP address to be from a Comcast account in Londonderry.

Instagram did not view two of the files so a search warrant was requested and later, granted. The account, according to an affidavit, was connected to a home business on Lantern Lane. Another search warrant was requested for the gmail account which was also connected to the same IP address, the report stated. A third search warrant was requested of Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, on the account name and the detective confirmed the files contained child sexual abuse images, an affidavit stated.

A search warrant was requested on the home in April the residents were interviewed. During those interviews, Thickins was accused of admitting to the account being his and possessing the images, the report stated.

Computers and phones were seized from Thickins and turned over to the task force.

In late June, a report from the Department of Homeland Security accused Thickins of having files on his iPhone “which were identified as potential child sexual abuse material.” A manual review by a detective, the report stated, found more than 400 media files, obtained from Dropbox and Mega applications. A second manual review by another detective found 23 media files, including photos and videos of children, which qualified as illegal under New Hampshire law.

A warrant was issued on July 15 and he was arrested the next day. Thickens was held on preventive detention and is due back in Rockingham County Superior Court on Aug. 23 for a dispositional conference.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Londonderry Police Department and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.