Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced the indictment of Richard L. Wolffe, Jr., a 39-year-old resident of Bay Shore, for allegedly possessing and uploading images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. Wolffe faces multiple counts of Possession of a Sexual Performance by a Child.
District Attorney Tierney expressed concern over current legal limitations regarding bail for individuals accused of such crimes. "The fact that prosecutors cannot even ask for bail for consumers of child sexual abuse images and videos is wrong and our lawmakers need to wake up," he stated. He emphasized the severity of these offenses, noting, "Each image in cases like these represents a crime scene and a child whose innocence was violently stolen."
The investigation began in August 2022 when the Suffolk County Police Department received information suggesting that Wolffe had uploaded child sexual abuse material to cloud storage. On July 27, 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at Wolffe's home, where they reportedly found several electronic devices, including an external hard drive containing over 5,000 images and videos involving children under ten years old. Wolffe was subsequently arrested on August 23, 2023.