It started with an automated alert about 21 videos uploaded to a cloud account. It ended this week with an active-duty Air Force major indicted on 128 counts.
Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson announced the indictment of Maj. Richard F. Gayson, 34, of Fort Washington, Maryland, on 128 counts of possessing child sexual abuse material. Military.com reported the indictment on Thursday, September 18, 2026. Gayson was arrested May 6 and is on home detention with a monitor; his next court date is October 9.
Story Snapshot
- On December 12, 2025, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a tip from a cloud-storage provider about 21 suspected videos tied to an account associated with Gayson.
- Police searched his home on February 4, 2026, and seized a flash drive, a microSD card, two phones and two laptops.
- Investigators say the devices held more than 120 illegal images and videos. Each is a count.
- He was held without bond after his May arrest, then released to home detention in July.
How The Case Was Built
The provider, Synchronoss Technologies, flagged the uploads and reported them to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which routed the tip to county police. Detectives obtained a warrant, and the February search produced the devices that became the basis of the grand jury’s 128 counts. The Air Force has not commented on Gayson’s status; a conviction would end his career and his commission.
The Bigger Picture
The CyberTipline that caught Gayson’s uploads took in about 21.3 million reports in 2025, more than 18.8 million of which were forwarded to law enforcement, and flagged more than 53,000 as urgent. Most of the cases that reach a courtroom now start the way this one did: a provider’s scanner, a tip, a warrant, a search. Gayson has not entered a plea on the indictment. He is presumed innocent until a jury says otherwise.
Sources:
military.com, mirror.co.uk, ground.news
