A Columbia, Missouri man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for transportation and possession of child pornography. Andrew Charles Nicholls, 38, who was previously charged by complaint, received the indictment on May 13, 2025. The charges allege that Nicholls transported and possessed images and videos of pre-pubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct using TOR, a dark web browser designed to conceal online activities. Nicholls has a prior conviction for child molestation in the second degree.
The indictment serves as an accusation and not as evidence of guilt. A federal trial jury will determine Nicholls’ guilt or innocence based on presented evidence. If convicted under federal statutes, Nicholls faces up to 40 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is provided for informational purposes; actual sentencing will be determined by the court following advisory guidelines and other factors after a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Turner is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Boone County Sheriff’s Cyber Crime Task Force with assistance from the FBI.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute offenders while identifying and rescuing victims through coordinated efforts at various governmental levels.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood or Internet safety education, resources are available at www.usdoj.gov/psc.
