Los Angeles: An investigation by Australian authorities has led to the arrest of a former cub scout leader in the US on child pornography charges.

William Gates, 40, was arraigned in Massachusetts' Middlesex Superior Court on Friday and charged with five counts of possession of child pornography.

A forensic examination of electronic devices recovered from Gates' Burlington home, near Boston, allegedly found more than 1000 child pornographic images.

"In November of 2017, Homeland Security Investigators in Boston received information from an Australian law enforcement agency that an unknown individual in the Boston area may be engaged with a website known to law enforcement for sharing child pornography," Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Burlington Chief of Police Michael Kent announced in a statement.

"Through their investigation, authorities determined the identity of the person to be William Gates of Burlington."

Judge Laurence Pierce released Gates from custody on personal recognisance and ordered him to have no unsupervised visits with children or work or volunteer with children.