A 20-year-old Hudson man was ordered held without bail this week after investigators say a monthslong probe into dark web cryptocurrency transactions led them to electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material, including videos depicting children as young as 2. Caden Niles was arrested without incident in Keene on Oct. 28 and arraigned the following day, entering no plea to a slate of charges that also includes drug counts tied to an alleged psilocybin mushroom growing operation police say they found in his bedroom.
According to the Lowell Sun, the investigation began after authorities received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children flagging suspected online transactions involving child sexual abuse material. Investigators traced that activity to Niles, Hudson police allege, saying he used cryptocurrency to purchase the material through the dark web.
Search Warrant Turned Up Devices and a Hidden Grow Operation
Investigators executed a search warrant at Niles' Hudson home in July, with assistance from the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the report states. During that search, authorities say they seized electronic devices including a computer and storage devices, and also discovered a suspected psilocybin mushroom grow operation inside a basin in Niles' bedroom, along with packages containing other suspected drugs.
Police reported that data extracted from the seized devices contained photographs and videos depicting child sexual abuse material, per the same account. The Nashua Police Department assisted with the forensic examination of those devices, while court documents state that some of the videos Niles possessed depicted children as young as 2 years old.
Charges Span Child Exploitation and Drug Counts
Niles is charged with seven counts of possession of child sexual abuse images and one count of prohibited use of computer services, the outlet reports. New Hampshire law defines possession of child sexual abuse images under RSA 649-A:3, while the computer services charge falls under RSA 649-B:4, which governs certain prohibited uses of computer services.
He also faces one count of controlled drug possession and one count of controlled drug manufacturing in connection with the alleged mushroom operation, the article notes. Niles was arrested without incident in Keene, with the Keene Police Department assisting in the arrest before he was transported to the Hudson Police Department for booking and then to Valley Street Jail.
No Plea Entered, Next Court Date Set
At his Oct. 29 arraignment, Niles entered no plea and was ordered held without bail, according to the report. He is scheduled to return to court on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Hudson police conducted the investigation that led to the arrest. Similar cases have surfaced elsewhere in the state this year: in July, Najim Ullah, 32, of Nashua, was taken into custody after the Nashua Telegraph reported that Nashua officers had been investigating CyberTips from the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force since September 2025 and had identified Ullah as a suspect. Police searched Ullah's home and found several electronic devices with evidence of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse images, and he was charged with two counts of distribution of child sexual abuse images and possession of child sexual abuse images before being held without bail ahead of his own arraignment.
