A Garden City scout leader Thursday pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography to others via the Internet, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.
Edward Orenchuk, III, 23, pleaded guilty to the top count against him -- promoting a sexual performance by a child as a sexually motivated felony -- in exchange for a promised sentence from Judge Angelo Delligatti of six months in jail and 10 years of probation with sex offender restrictions, Rice said.
Orenchuk must also register as a sex offender, Rice said. He will be sentenced June 6.
Rice said that during August and September of 2012, investigators from the DA’s Office observed Orenchuk making multiple images of child pornography available over the Internet for download by other people.
Investigators tracked the source of those images to a Wheeler Avenue residence in Garden City, Rice said. Orenchuk implicated himself during the execution of a search warrant at this home in December 2012, indicating that he had hundreds of images on his personal computer.
Rice said that at the time of his arrest, Orenchuk was employed as a page at the Garden City Public Library and served as an Assistant Scout Master with Boy Scout Troop No. 243 in Garden City.
The images contain children as young as 5 years old, Rice said.
“To have these images and put them on the Internet is terrible enough, but for this man to also have access to young children at work and as a volunteer makes this crime that much more disturbing,” Rice said. “My office will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone caught trafficking in this horrific material.”
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