Former assistant scoutmaster pleads guilty to receiving child sexual abuse material

NORFOLK, Va. – A former Assistant Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America from Virginia Beach pleaded guilty today to receiving images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

According to court documents, in June 2023, Virginia Beach Police (VBPD) investigating individuals sharing child sexual abuse material using file-sharing technology identified Andrew Harris Reshefsky, 42, as a distributor and recipient of the abuse material

On Aug. 17, 2023, VPBD officers executed a search warrant at the residence and seized multiple electronic devices in Reshefsky’s possession. Reshefsky’s phone contained images of sexual exploitation of children received in WhatsApp messages in 2021 and 2022. Forensic analysis of Reshefsky’s other electronic devices yielded numerous additional videos and imagery involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) spanning years.

Reshefsky is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 18. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of twenty years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Derek W. Gordon, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Paul Neudigate, Chief of Virginia Beach Police, made the announcement after Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clayton D. LaForge and Joseph L. Kosky are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-146.

Anyone who believes they or someone they know may have been victimized by Reshefsky is encouraged to contact the HSI tip line at 1-877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.