Greenwich Attorney Sentenced For Possession Of Child Pornography: Feds

GREENWICH, CT — A 37-year-old Greenwich man has been sentenced to two years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for possessing images and videos of child sexual abuse, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Christopher Bates Jr., an attorney admitted to practice in Connecticut and New York, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven.

As part of his sentence, Bates was ordered to pay restitution of $15,000, an assessment of $17,000 to fund the Child Pornography Victims Reserve fund, and additional assessments of $5,100.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an international law investigation revealed that an IP address at Bates’ residence was being used to access the dark web to view images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, Avery said in a news release.

On Nov. 30, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents interviewed Bates, who consented to a search of his electronic devices, Avery said.

A forensic review of one of his laptops revealed approximately 1,222 images and two videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants, Avery added.

Bates was arrested on Dec. 13, 2022, and on Feb. 7, 2024, he pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography. He's now released on a $300,000 bond under electronic monitoring and is required to report to prison on July 11.

This matter was investigated by HSI with the assistance of the Greenwich Police Department. The prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit click here.

Report cases of child exploitation here.