Sentencing For LI Man Who Pleaded Guilty To Child Porn Charge: DOJ

NORTH FORK, NY — A Greenport man and former village official who pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge at federal court in Central Islip in March is set to be sentenced Friday, officials said.

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

Corwin faces mandated sentencing guidelines of a minimum of five years in jail and a maximum of 20 years; the government's sentencing memorandum recommends that he be sentenced to 60 months, or five years, imprisonment.

He was not remanded and has remained on "house arrest" in Greenport, Marzulli said.

Corwin's Mineola-based attorney Anthony Grandinette could not immediately be reached for to comment.

Corwin, a former Greenport Village trustee and zoning board of appeals member, was arrested last year and charged with possession of child pornography, a federal official said. He was arrested at his Greenport home on March 24, 2021, according to Marzulli.

A second North Fork man, Damon 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.

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

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 found to have 39 images from that series, the government's sentencing memorandum 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 was not able to have contact with anyone under the age of 18 in person or on the internet, the judge said.

Corwin had served on the Greenport Village Zoning Board of Appeals and was a former Greenport Village trustee.

The government's sentencing memorandum reveals new details of the case, including that Corwin "did not allow the agents to enter a room upstairs that had a glowing red light coming from underneath the door and emitted an odor of marijuana."

According to the memorandum, a search of Corwin's computers revealed that he had more than 1,900 images and 12 videos depicting child pornography. "Because many of the defendant’s devices were encrypted, however, the FBI was not able to ascertain the full scope of the defendant’s likely child pornography collection. This search also revealed that the defendant was using peer-to-peer file-sharing networks to receive and distribute child pornography, and the files that he possessed include ones depicting sadomasochism and the sexual abuse of toddlers," the memorandum said.

When he was arrested on March 24, 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant, which revealed that Corwin was growing marijuana in his home, the memorandum read. He was arraigned on an indictment charging him with one count of receiving child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography, federal officials said.

"At the time of the defendant’s arrest, it became apparent that he had a substantial substance abuse problem, and that he was self-medicating with Valium, which he obtained on the internet. After the defendant’s arrest, he apparently weaned himself from this substance," the memorandum said.

Corwin, federal officials said, violated the conditions of release in several ways, most notably using his computer to view an image of a minor boy, undressed.

"The government respectfully requests that the court impose a sentence of 60 months’ incarceration, which is below the guidelines in this case and consistent with the recommendation of the probation department," the government's sentencing memorandum said. "The nature of the offense to which the defendant has pleaded guilty, the need for deterrence, and the defendant’s history and characteristics all warrant a significant term of imprisonment such as this," wrote Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney.

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.