Damon Laris photographed in 2019. (file photo)
A hearing where a Southold man accused of distributing child pornography was expected to plead guilty has been postponed again.
In a January 21 letter to federal judge Joan Azrack, defense attorney Jason Russo moved the hearing from February 1 to March 1 of this year, citing “trial schedule and schedule conflicts.” requested to change. This request was granted by the court on January 23rd.
Laris, 48, was expected to plead guilty at a February 1 hearing. He initially pleaded not guilty to charges of distributing child pornography.
A longtime employee of Southold Town’s building department and former Democratic nominee for supervisor, he was arrested in February 2021 on federal child pornography charges.
He is charged with distributing child pornography, according to a federal complaint.
According to court documents, according to a complaint filed in federal court, Laris was the subject of an investigation by the FBI after interacting with an undercover agent in an “invitation-only” group chat on social media platform Kik in 2020. rice field. .
Laris reportedly shared two sexually explicit videos of his toddler using the screen name “dirtydaddy431.”
During the subsequent raid on the Southold family, Mr. Laris told law enforcement that he had seen child pornography and posted the media mentioned in the criminal complaint, according to an affidavit from an FBI special agent. admitted.
According to the complaint, Laris told investigators he had viewed child pornography as recently as the day before and would delete the images after viewing.
In a separate investigation, then-Greenport Planning Commission member David Corwin was charged with possession of child pornography a month later in another FBI sting operation.
According to court records, a person using a computer in Corwin’s home received information from international law enforcement in April 2019 that he accessed a “dark web” site used for child pornography. After that, the agent visited Mr. Greenport’s home.
Corwin was sentenced to five years in federal prison in November. He was also ordered to pay fines of approximately $60,000 towards various victim relief funds.
If convicted, Mr. Laris could likewise face up to five years in prison.
He issued a $200,000 bond last year and is currently on supervised home release. He is scheduled to return to court on his March 1st.
