NYC dancer arrested for distributing child sex abuse material

CW: The following story contains details of sexual abuse of minors.

News broke yesterday that a cruise ship dancer from New York City had been arrested in Florida for allegedly possessing and distributing child sex abuse material.

Jamaal Wade of Washington Heights was arrested by US Marshals in Broward County on Sunday and charged with receipt, possession, and distribution of child porn, WPLG reported.

Wade has worked for both Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines. It is unclear if he was working on a cruise at the time of his arrest.

“Wade distributed files containing sexually explicit images of minors from/on a computer in New York, New York via the Telegram messaging application,” states a complaint filed by the Southern District Court of New York.

An investigation was launched in October after federal agents seized the phone of a user of the messaging app Telegram. Wade allegedly sent that person child sexual abuse material.

The recipient told authorities he had gone to Wade’s Manhattan apartment to view the illicit material with him. He “also provided the username of an Instagram account used by Jamaal,” the filing says.

In January, the person sent eight videos to the covert FBI employee.

Wade also told the man he had been arrested in Detroit for conduct “while on tour.”

Detroit police records confirmed that he was arrested on Feb. 18, 2020, after being accused of molesting an 11-year-old boy. It was unclear whether he was convicted.

The suspect has allegedly admitted in online chats to molesting a boy while “on tour with a performance group.”

That tour was the first national tour of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Wade was arrested while the tour was in Detroit. It is unclear if he rejoined the tour after his arrest when they went to Worcester, MA, and Grand Rapids, MI.

Jamaal Wade (Center, listed as Jamaal K. Wade) in the 2020 National Tour of ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’

It should be noted that the show would have put him in direct contact with children both in the show and attending performances.

Wade is charged with one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He could face up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted.