MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A former Trump lobbyist from Mooresville is facing federal child pornography charges after being indicted by a grand jury last month.
Scott David Mason is charged with distribution of child pornography and possessing and accessing child pornography with intent to view, according to the Mooresville Tribune.
He was indicted on Oct. 22 and surrendered to authorities on Oct. 27. Mason was arraigned in U.S. District Court, and entered a plea of not guilty. Mason posted a $25,000 unsecured bond.
According to the indictment, Mason allegedly used the messaging app Kik Messenger to distribute 15 files depicting child sexual abuse between March and May. Some of these images were altered using artificial intelligence.
The investigation began after a CyberTip was reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by MediaLab.AI Inc., the parent company of Kik, on May 2. Law enforcement linked the Kik accounts used to distribute the files to Mason.
Mason’s home was searched on July 14, resulting in the seizure of 12 devices. Mason is claiming attorney-client privilege to prevent law enforcement from searching these devices, as he worked for an unnamed international law firm as a senior policy advisor.
Prosecutors and Mason’s defense team are disputing the search protocol for the seized devices. The prosecution argues that Mason’s communications are not privileged, while the defense claims Mason worked closely with the legal team and handled privileged information.
The Mooresville Tribune reported, as of Monday, a judge has not ruled on how the devices should be handled.
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