Greenport Village Official Accused of Downloading Child Porn

A 72-year-old Village of Greenport zoning board member was arrested Wednesday after investigators allegedly found child porn on computers in his home, federal authorities said.

Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay set bail for David Corwin at $300,000 following his initial appearance on child porn charges at Central Islip federal court. He was also ordered to remain under house arrest, required to wear a location monitoring devise, prohibited from using Instagram, and had to turn over all electronic devices, among other restrictions.

“I believe that the risk here has more to do with his use off computers than his risk of flight,” Lindsay said.

A Suffolk County police detective assigned to the Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force determined that a computer with an IP address registered to Corwin had logged onto a website that hosts child porn, according to court documents.

When an FBI agent knocked on his door on March 18, he allowed the investigator to view the computers, which had on them multiple videos of adults engaging in sex acts with children, authorities alleged in the court documents.

Megan Farrell, the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York prosecuting the case, said that when investigators executed a search warrant at the suspect’s Main Street home, in addition to computers containing “large amounts” of pornography, they also found 15 marijuana plants growing in the basement.

Defense attorney Randi Chavis said Corwin’s brother, who lives in Alaska and is co-owner of Corwin’s house, which they inherited from their parents, agreed to put the house up as collateral to secure bail.

The arrest comes a month after a Town of Southold worker and Boy Scout leader was charged with possession of child porn.

Corwin faces up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted. Greenport village officials did not respond to a request for comment.