Village Official Charged With Child Pornography Possession

GREENPORT, NY — A Greenport Village official was arrested Wednesday and charged with possession of child pornography, a federal official said.

David Corwin, 72, was arrested at his Greenport home Wednesday morning, according to John Marzulli, public information officer for the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York. .

According to the complaint filed, Corwin had visual depictions of "one or more minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct" on electronic devices in his home.

In August, 2019, the complaint said, the FBI received information from a foreign law enforcement agency about an IP address registered to Corwin that was used to access a website on the dark web called "Hurt Meh."

On March 18, a task force officer went with an FBI special agent to Corwin's home, where he consented to a search for electronic devices; he had at least six computers that he called "stations," the complaint said. After opening a laptop, Corwin opened his laptop to a dark web browser, where he had bookmarked a website with live chatting capabilities related to pedophilia, the complaint said.

The task force officer opened tabs on the site that revealed sexually explicit images of minor girls between the ages of five and seven years old, the complaint said. Videos depicted sexually explicit acts involving a toddler and an infant, the complaint said.

Corwin also showed the officer an online inmate search for Bart Huskey, or James Bartholomew Huskey, who was prosecuted in Georgia after pleading guilty to child pornography charges; Huskey, based on documents filed in the case, sexually abused his daughter between the ages of six and nine and pressed a knife against her face, the complaint said. Huskey, Corwin stated, was "infamous" in his world, the complaint said.

Corwin was arraigned Wednesday afternoon before Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay with Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Farrell and defense attorney Randi Chavis; he will be retaining private counsel, the judge said. He was released on $300,000 bail; his family home, owned by Corwin and his brother, was used as collateral. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, federal officials said.

At the arraignment, the prosecution said when the FBI returned Wednesday, they found that Corwin had gone out and purchased new electronic devices after his original devices were removed.

The judge said Corwin is under "house arrest," allowed only to leave for attorney, court or doctor's appointments or to buy groceries; Corwin can retain one electronic device to conduct daily tasks such as bill-paying because he claimed tremors in his hands made writing a check impossible. He will not be allowed to access to certain social media sites and his use will be monitored by pre-trial services, with random visits allowed, the judge said. He cannot have contact with anyone under the age of 18 in person or on the internet, the judge said.

Corwin serves on the Greenport Village Zoning Board of Appeals and is a former Greenport Village trustee.

His arrest is "shocking and unfortunate," Greenport Village Mayor George Hubbard said.

Last month, a longtime Southold Town employee and Boy Scout leader was arrested and charged with distribution of child pornography, federal officials said.