LOWELL — A Chelmsford man, who serves as a Lowell firefighter, has been charged with possessing child pornography and sex trafficking after allegedly paying a juvenile for explicit images.
David Silva, 35, appeared in Wrentham District Court on Tuesday, where he was ordered to be held on $25,000 cash bail, according to court documents. He has since posted bail, according to WHDH.
The Millis Police Department said in an incident report that the juvenile’s parents visited the police station in late December, worried about their daughter’s inappropriate conversations with a man on the social media app Snapchat. The juvenile told police she had never met the man in person but had received his Snapchat contact information from an older family member.
The juvenile told police that she and the man, whom she knew as James — later identified by police as Silva — had exchanged explicit photos. She alleged the man had paid her approximately $500 for the various images. The juvenile also told police that she was aware the man was a firefighter and believed him to be 25 years old, according to the report.
Police also spoke to the older family member about the man, whom she said had randomly added her on Snapchat and instantly messaged her asking for “naked pictures.” She alleged he would send her money through Venmo and Apple Pay in exchange for explicit images and videos. She added that she eventually blocked him on Snapchat.
According to police, through an extensive investigation involving search warrants and subpoenas after receiving this information, authorities uncovered detailed evidence that established probable cause to charge Silva, of 23 Monument Hill Road in Chelmsford.
Police said that Snapchat cooperated with the investigation, providing data that revealed hundreds of photos and videos appearing to depict juvenile females engaged in explicit acts, some of which took place in school classrooms and bathrooms.
Snapchat also supplied information showing that several users had reported the account “jamessss144,” allegedly used by Silva, for disturbing and inappropriate behavior. According to police, one report said the man had sent unsolicited sexual videos of himself, and another said he was “asking for feet pics when I was 16 and he was 20.”
One report said, “I don’t know this man, he is very weird. I am very uncomfortable.”
Police said that PayPal, the parent company of Venmo, also cooperated with the investigation. According to police, the Venmo account under the username “spacemob” was linked to Silva through his mailing address, date of birth, Social Security number, and cellphone.
Records from December revealed that Silva had sent nearly $7,000 to various Venmo accounts. Venmo’s note feature, which allows users to include brief descriptions of payments, contained one message stating, “Can I pay you for feet pics,” according to police. Investigators also traced an IP address associated with the account to the Lowell Fire Station on Gorham Street, while another IP address was linked to Silva’s home.
Silva was arraigned on possession of child pornography, posing or exhibiting a child in a sexual act, and trafficking of a person under 18 for sexual servitude. Silva pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, which are felonies.
If he posts bail, Silva was ordered by a judge to avoid contact with the victim and witnesses, refrain from unsupervised contact with minors under 18, and abstain from using social media.
When asked about Silva’s status with the Lowell Fire Department on Wednesday evening, City Manager Tom Golden stated that it was a personnel matter and declined to comment further.
Silva is scheduled to return to Wrentham District Court on April 1. Court documents from his arraignment indicate that Silva had an attorney appointed for the proceedings but plans to retain private counsel.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky@aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
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