CBP Agent Harry Peless III Thought He Was Sexually Chatting With a 13-Year-Old Girl. He Pleaded Guilty in Federal Court.

 

CBP Agent Harry Peless III Had Explicit Online Conversations With Someone He Believed Was a 13-Year-Old Girl. He Pleaded Guilty to Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material.

Harry Marvelle Peless III was a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent working at the Gibraltar, Michigan, CBP station.

In July 2025, the FBI arrested him following an undercover operation involving someone Peless believed was a 13-year-old girl.

It wasn't a single conversation.

According to federal prosecutors, Peless engaged in near-daily sexually explicit online communications with the undercover officer.

Investigators said he frequently logged into the chat application while he was on duty at the CBP station.

A federal agent, sitting at work, using government time to engage in sexually explicit conversations with someone he believed was a child.

On February 17, 2026, Peless pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of receipt of child pornography, the statutory name of the offense.

The conviction carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a maximum of 20 years, along with a potential fine of up to $250,000.

As of the information provided here, Peless has not yet been sentenced. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 1, 2026.

There wasn't actually a 13-year-old girl on the other side of those conversations. It was an undercover officer.

But Harry Peless didn't know that. He believed he was sexually communicating with a 13-year-old child, and investigators say he kept coming back nearly every fucking day.