NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Greenwich man was sentenced in New Haven on Tuesday to two years in federal prison for possessing images and videos of child sexual abuse, a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut said.
Christopher Bates Jr., 37, had a laptop that contained approximately 1,222 images and two videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants, according to prosecutors, who noted that he is an attorney admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.
Bates Jr.’s sentence is followed by five years of supervised release, prosecutors said, adding that he must pay restitution of $15,000, an assessment of $17,000 to the Child Pornography Victims Reserve fund and additional assessments of $5,100.
Prosecutors said an international law investigation revealed that an IP address at Bates’ residence was being used to access the dark web to view images and videos depicting the abuse of children. On Nov. 30, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations agents interviewed Bates, who allowed them to search his electronic devices.
According to prosecutors, forensic review uncovered the images and videos.
Bates was arrested on Dec. 13, 2022, and pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography on Feb. 7. He is released on a $300,000 bond, is under electric monitoring and must report to prison on July 11.
The prosecution is part of the U.S. Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit here; to report cases of child exploitation, click here.
----
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
----
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com.
----
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
