New Hearing Date For Ex-LI Scout Leader Charged With Child Porn: DOJ

NORTH FORK, NY — Damon Rallis, a longtime Southold Town employee and Boy Scout leader — who was arrested and charged with distribution of child pornography in February, 2021, according to federal officials — has another new date for his change of plea hearing adjourned.

According to John Marzulli, public information officer for the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, the date for the in-person proceedings was initially moved from Feb. 1 to March 1 before Judge Joan Azrack. The plea scheduled for March 1 was adjourned "sine die," which means no new date was set," he said.

At a status conference on Wednesday, a date for the plea hearing was set for April 26 at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Azrack, Marzulli confirmed.

The reason for the earlier request for continuance of the scheduled guilty plea, according to a letter to the judge, was "based upon trial schedules and conflicts in scheduling."

Rallis was released on $200,000 bond, federal officials said last year. He is represented by Bay Shore-based attorney Jason Russo, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to court documents, Rallis, who pleaded not guilty to his indictment, was first slated for a change of plea hearing on Dec. 15. Rallis attorney' Russo has told Patch that he is "not at liberty to discuss his client's plea arrangements with the government at this time."

He added that there have been negotiations with the government and it was anticipated that those negotiations would be concluded by the time of the hearing.

Rallis, a former building permits examiner for Southold Town and former vice chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, was arrested at his Southold home on February 23, 2021; he was released on bond following a virtual court hearing later in the day.

Prosecutors said Rallis shared child pornography on the messaging app Kik under the handle "dirtydaddy341." Rallis posted a video and photo of a nude male toddler, prosecutors said.

Michelle Groff, a special agent with the FBI, said in a criminal complaint an undercover law enforcement officer participated in a Kik chat group with several people "openly engaging in the exchange of child pornography," including Rallis.

The video and image of the toddler were connected to an IP address registered to an Optimum/Altice account leased to Rallis, according to prosecutors.

Authorities executed a search warrant at his home and Rallis waived his Miranda rights, prosecutors said. Rallis told authorities he "uses the internet to view child pornography" and used Kik under the dirtydaddy431 handle, according to the complaint. He said he posted media to Kik and viewed child pornography, according to the complaint.

Rallis also admitted to installing secret cameras in his house and one was pointed at a toilet, prosecutors said.

United States Magistrate Judge Anne Shields ordered Rallis to home incarceration with electronic monitoring, no internet access and no contact with children.

Rallis ran unsuccessfully for Southold Town supervisor in 2015 and Southold Town assessor in 2017. He has served as a Masonic lodge chaplain and has been involved with North Fork churches.

Rallis was suspended from his building permits examiner job while the town conducted its own investigation, according to Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell at the time of his arrest.
"We are shocked and disgusted by these charges," Russell said in a statement.

Rallis was a Boy Scout scoutmaster and scout cubmaster for Boy Scout Troop 51 in Greenport.

"This individual's behavior is reprehensible and runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands," Ryan DiBernardo, CEO of the Suffolk County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, said in a statement to ABC7ny.com at the time. "While the arrest appears to be unrelated to Scouting, upon learning of these reports, we took immediate action to remove this individual from Scouting and prohibit him from any future participation in our programs. Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of youth in our Scouting programs — it is our top priority."

Kathryn Casey Quigley, chair of the Southold Town Democratic Committee, said at the time that she was "blindsided, sickened, and horrified by the charges against Damon Rallis."

"I am grateful to law enforcement for their work to uncover this alleged misconduct," Quigley said in a statement to Patch.

If found guilty of the distribution of child pornography charge, he faces a minimum of five years in prison.