Nashua resident charged over chats seeking access to children

NASHUA, N.H. — A Nashua resident is facing felony charges after police say a CyberTip flagged the individual’s alleged interest in sexually abusing a child, leading investigators to uncover child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices.

According to a complaint filed in court by the Nashua Police Department, 23-year-old Dean Jackson — who is transgender and uses they/them pronouns — had previously been trespassed from a Nashua middle school after allegedly loitering there.

Police said a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTip, forwarded on June 18 by the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, prompted investigators in the department’s Cybercrimes Against Children Unit to quickly identify Jackson as the individual involved.

The CyberTip originated from Discord — a communication platform — which reported a chat in which Jackson and another user allegedly discussed going to parks and other locations, including schools, to gain access to children.

Police said they made contact with Jackson and later executed a court‑ordered search warrant at his residence, where they seized electronic devices. During the interaction, Jackson allegedly attempted to delete images from his phone, police said.

According to police, investigators reported finding evidence of both possession and distribution of child sexual abuse images on the seized devices. The complaint states that Jackson gave verbal consent to view an album on their phone titled “Pedo,” which contained 555 files, several of which were identifiable as child sexual abuse images.

The complaint states the Discord chat included Jackson saying they wished they lived “in the era where you told your eight‑year‑old to go off and play … without any sort of supervision,” and that they had been “caught loitering around a school” and trespassed as a result.

Jackson also allegedly wrote that they “look like a stereotypical pedo,” and discussed wanting to get a job at a day care, work as a babysitter or even adopt children to gain access to them.

A Nashua police detective confirmed in the complaint that Jackson had been the subject of a March 2022 call for service near a middle school, where juveniles chased Jackson and alleged to police that Jackson had been known to loiter and ask female students for nude photographs. This resulted in the no-trespass order.

During an interview with police, Jackson allegedly admitted they were “likely subconsciously a pedophile,” had participated in explicit chats on multiple devices, and later told detectives they had been lying earlier and did possess and seek out child sexual abuse images. Jackson also allegedly admitted to photographing their neighbor’s 4‑ or 5‑year‑old children.

Jackson was charged with three counts of possession of child sexual abuse images, a Class A felony; three counts of distribution of child sexual abuse images, a special felony; and one count of falsifying physical evidence, a Class B felony.

Jackson was held without bail following their arrest and again ordered held on preventive detention during their arraignment Monday in the 9th Circuit Nashua District Court, after a judge ruled they posed a danger to the public. No plea was entered on any of the seven charges during Jackson’s arraignment.

Jackson is scheduled to return to court for a probable cause hearing at 10 a.m. July 1.

Police said the investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Nashua Police Department Crime Line at 603‑589‑1665.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.