A Long Island man who allegedly downloaded thousands of disturbing images and videos of the sexual abuse of infants and children is now back on the streets thanks to New York’s lax bail reform laws.
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Richard L. Wolfe, Jr., 39, was busted after Suffolk County Police Department officers received a tip that the accused crook had uploaded sexually explicit images of children to his cloud storage.
While executing the search warrant, officers seized numerous electronic devices from Wolfe’s bedroom, including an external hard drive that contained over 5,000 images and videos of children under the age of 10 performing sexual acts.
Prosecutors charged the alleged pervert with a 20-count charge of sexual performance of a child — charges that are non-bailable under state law, meaning he can’t be kept behind bars until That he cannot be held guilty.
District Attorney Raymond Tierney angrily stated, “The fact that prosecutors can’t even seek bail for consumers of child sexual abuse images and videos is wrong and our lawmakers need to wake up.”
“In cases like this each image represents a crime scene and a child whose innocence was violently stolen. “Our office will vigorously prosecute anyone who not only exploits our most vulnerable, but also those who encourage such heinous acts.”
Prosecutors said police began their investigation in August 2022 after a tip and executed a search warrant at his home on July 27, 2023.
Wolfe was arrested on August 23, 2023, after members of the department’s digital forensics unit found his digital repository.
He was arraigned Thursday on felony charges and placed on supervised release, prosecutors said.
If convicted, Wolfe faces up to four years in prison.
He is due back in court on December 20.
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