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Customs and Border Protection agent pleads guilty to child porn charge

By David Komer
Published  February 18, 2026 2:11pm EST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

The Brief

    • A 51-year-old Monroe County man has pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography.
    • Harry Marvelle Peless III was a Marine Border Protection agent at the time with Customs and Border Protection.
    • Peless was in contact with an undercover officer and received child pornography over the internet.

FOX 2 - A former Customs and Border Protection agent pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography on Tuesday in federal court.

Harry Marvelle Peless III of Newport, was charged with one count of receipt of child porn.

The offense carries a sentence of between five and 20 years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000.  

Investigators say Peless sent sexual messages to an undercover officer posing as a minor.

Peless, 51, began communicating with the undercover officer in September 2024, and his contacts with the undercover became nearly daily.

At the time of the offense, Peless was employed as a Marine Border Protection agent at the Gibraltar, Michigan, CBP station.

Evidence recovered showed Peless had received child pornography over the internet, and that he was logged into the chat account he used to communicate with the undercover officer while he was working at the Gibraltar CBP station.

His sentencing has been set for 9 a.m. June 1st.

Crime and Public SafetyWayne CountyMacomb County