NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton man who spent six years on the lam in Ecuador after being charged with possessing child sexual abuse material pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Hampshire Superior Court Friday morning.
Northampton Police began investigating resident Jude Demeis, 55, in 2019 after he allegedly shared a video containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on social media. He was charged with three counts of possessing CSAM, and one count of posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity following a Hampshire County grand jury decision in September 2019, but fled the jurisdiction after an arrest warrant was issued in 2020.
In 2020, Massachusetts State Police added Demeis to their Most Wanted list. The case went national in 2021 when Demeis’ photo was featured on the Investigation Discovery program “In Pursuit with John Walsh,” a show that works to track down fugitives and missing children. The Northampton man was the subject of one of the show’s “15 Seconds of Shame” segments.
Following Demeis’s not guilty plea Friday, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Trapani ruled that he be held in custody until his bail hearing on Aug. 31.
The defendant was located in Ecuador earlier this year through a joint effort between the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (VFAS) and the FBI, which worked alongside Ecuadorian authorities to arrest him. He was escorted from Ecuador to Boston by U.S. marshals on Thursday.
“The capture of Jude Demeis should be a warning to fugitives everywhere: we will find you and ensure you face justice,” Ted Docks, FBI’s Boston Division special agent in charge, said in a statement. “This is an example of how the FBI is leveraging its specialized skills, resources, and international partnerships to support the Massachusetts State Police in locating one of their fugitives. Demeis’s arrest allows the justice system to move forward as it should have.”
The FBI’s Office of the Legal Attaché in Colombia, the U.S. Embassy in Quito, and the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service provided “significant assistance” in this investigation, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
“There are no jurisdictional boundaries when it comes to pursuing justice,” District Attorney David Sullivan wrote in a statement. “This case demonstrates what happens when local, state and federal law enforcement agencies share information and work collaboratively toward a common goal. We are grateful to every agency who assisted in finding and returning the defendant to the Commonwealth to face these charges.”
Assistant District Attorney Kyle Stublen represented the commonwealth at Friday’s arraignment, while Demeis was represented by Boston Attorney Daniel Reilly. Reilly declined to comment on the case.
