Jay Sears Arrested Again, Found With Bag Of Child Porn, Charged With Violating Conditions Of Probation: U.S. Attorney

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — Jay Lockett Sears, architect to the stars who spent years working with children on mission projects in the Hamptons, was arrested again Thursday after violating the conditions of his release on child pornography charges — and was found with bags of child porn, authorities said.

According to Tyler Daniels, press representative for the U.S. Attorney's Office, eastern district of New York, Sears, 78, was arrested at his East Quogue home and was arraigned at an unidentified hospital in Suffolk County by U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley out of Central Islip.

Sears, represented by federal defender Randi Chavis in a case prosecuted by U.S. District Attorney Allen Bode, was charged with allegedly violating the conditions of his supervised release and "lying to his probation officer," Daniels said.

When his probation officer visited him, the officer observed "several bags of sexually explicit photos"; when confronted, Sears "allegedly lied about the photos and why they were there," Daniels said.

Sears, Daniels added, "was found to be cutting physically photos of local children's faces" from the local "Waldo Tribune" newspaper, as well as other publications, then "pasting them on pictures of nude, adult bodies and accompanying the photos with sexually explicit captions."

There is no evidence that any of the photos were posted on the internet, Daniels said.

If convicted, Sears faces up to three years of incarceration; a bail hearing is set for Friday, Daniels said.

In June, 2014 Sears pleaded guilty and was convicted on one count of possessing child pornography, with time served, he spent three weeks in jail and was sent to five years of supervised release, Daniels said.

According to court pleadings, Sears created "hundreds of images of child pornography by taking photographs of children in public settings, such as beach club parties and other events, and then placing the heads of the children onto images of adult bodies engaged in sexual activity. Some of the images included pictures of Sears’ face pasted onto the bodies of other males so as to appear as if he were having sexual relations with children," a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Sears came to the attention of the SCPD Computer Crimes Squad on January 11, 2013, after hundreds of child pornography images were found in a dumpster outside of the defendant’s East Moriches townhouse apartment building, the release said; the images had been discarded as Sears prepared to move out of his apartment.

“Sears victimized children by using their innocent faces to create child pornography. He then dragged them further into his aberrant fantasy world by adding his own images to these pictures. Such exploitation of children is one of our most important law enforcement priorities and will not be tolerated,” Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at the time.

Sears pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in 2013; he originally pleaded not guilty to a six-count indictment on child pornography charges.

The FBI said Sears, owner of the architectural firm Sears & Sears, and ran the Quogue-based nonprofit organization, Mission of Kindness, allegedly took photos of young girls at Hamptons parties and local establishments and superimposed their headshots on pornographic materials.

In 2013, Westhampton Beach and Quogue community members were shocked to learn about Sears' arrest.

For years, Sears lived in Quogue, where his public image was one of a life spent helping others, bringing food to the homeless in Hampton Bays motels in the 1990s and reaching out to help children through his Mission of Kindness organization.

As news of Sears' arrest spread, shock waves rocked the community.

"As for the families of these children, it's a heartbreaker. Imagine that an innocent photo of your child frolicking at a beach party turns into a pornographic image. This saddens and sickens me at the same time. The fact the parents have to contact the authorities to see if their child's precious face could be super-imposed is disgusting. This is another break of trust," said one mother at the time.

"This is horrifying," another local mom said.

In the years before his arrest, Lockett has taken out ads in local publications — wearing a famous white suit and sporting an angel's white wings — and sent letters to local editors, asking for help with his Mission of Kindness, and for a 12-year-old girl who had undergone many operations, whom he said had a "bright, beautiful light."

One college student at the time said Sears had come to speak to his class when he was a child about his philanthropic efforts. He said he was not surprised to hear of Sears' arrest.

"When he came to talk to us back in elementary school, he was just plain creepy," he said.

Another community member said, of Sears, "He needs help."

Patch file photo.