An FBI scientist with a top secret security clearance has pleaded guilty to federal charges involving child sexual abuse material, according to the Justice Department inspector general.
Headline USA’s Ken Silva reported that Cary Andre Rue, a microbiologist who maintained an office at the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia, entered the plea on Aug. 4 as part of a deal with prosecutors.
DOJ watchdog details the guilty plea
The Justice Department Office of Inspector General said Rue pleaded guilty to one count of advertisement for child sexual abuse material, also known as CSAM, and one count of possession of CSAM.
In a press release quoted by Headline USA, the inspector general said Rue knowingly made or published a notice in November 2025 seeking and offering to receive, exchange, produce, display, distribute and reproduce a visual depiction involving a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, knowing the advertisement would travel through interstate and foreign commerce.
The watchdog also said Rue knowingly possessed material on an Android Galaxy S22 containing a visual depiction of CSAM on or about April 8, 2026, with conduct beginning at least in November 2023.
Google tips reportedly triggered the investigation
According to charging documents cited by Headline USA, Google submitted multiple tips last September about Rue’s email account to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Those reports alleged that Rue uploaded more than 50 files of suspected child pornography to his Google Drive account.
In April, the FBI executed search warrants on more than 25 electronic devices owned by Rue, according to the report. Agents allegedly found more than 3,000 sexually explicit videos depicting minors, including very young children.
Investigators also allegedly found communications in which Rue discussed finding teenage prostitutes during a future overseas trip and insinuated that he had sex with minors in Bulgaria, according to the same report.
Rue was arrested May 4 and indicted shortly afterward. His sentencing is scheduled for November, according to Silva.
Another Virginia-based FBI official faced a separate sex-crime charge
Rue lived in Stafford, Virginia, and worked out of Quantico, according to court records cited by Headline USA.
The outlet reported that Rue was the second Virginia-based FBI official to be charged with a sex crime in May. Earlier that month, FBI supervisor Timothy Healy was reportedly charged with felony sexual battery in Indiana.
Headline USA reported that Healy lives in Virginia and was visiting someone he knew in Indianapolis when the alleged offense occurred. Further details were not public at the time of the report.
The FBI still listed Healy on its website as a supervisory agent with the Crisis Negotiation Unit in Quantico, according to the report. A Georgetown University biography for Healy had been removed, though an archived version reportedly described him as having about 23 years of federal service.
Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA.
