North Fork Man Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charge: DOJ

NORTH FORK, NY — A Greenport man pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge at federal court in Central Islip this week.

David Corwin, 73, pleaded guilty before Judge Joanna Seybert to one count of receipt of child pornography, according to John Marzulli, public information officer for the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York.

Corwin faces mandated sentencing guidelines of a minimum of five years in jail and a maximum of 20 years, Marzulli said.

He was not remanded and remains on "house arrest" in Greenport; he is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 7 at 2 p.m., Marzulli said.

Corwin's Mineola-based attorney Anthony Grandinette declined to comment.

A second North Fork man, Damon Rallis, also facing child pornography charges, saw his status conference before Judge Joan Azrack, slated for Wednesday, adjourned until May 13 at 10 a.m., Marzulli said.

Corwin, a Greenport Village official, was arrested last year and charged, a federal official said. He was arrested at his Greenport home on March 24, 2021, according to Marzulli.

Corwin, according to the complaint filed, 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, 2021, 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 before Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay with Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Farrell and defense attorney Randi Chavis last year.

He was released on bond; his family home, owned by Corwin and his brother, was used as collateral.

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

The judge said Corwin was under "house arrest," allowed only to leave for attorney, court or doctor's appointments or to buy groceries; Corwin was told he could 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 was not to be allowed to access to certain social media sites and his use was to 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 has served on the Greenport Village Zoning Board of Appeals and is a former Greenport Village trustee.

Rallis, a longtime Southold Town employee and Boy Scout leader, was arrested and charged with distribution of child pornography in February, 2021, federal officials said. Rallis was released on $200,000 bond, federal officials said last year. He is represented by Bay Shore-based attorney Jason Russo. Russo could not immediately be reached for comment.

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.

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