Nude Teen Photos Lead to Sex Crime Charges
A 54-year-old East Hampton man has been indicted on two sex-crime charges involving a minor after allegedly convincing an out-of-state teenager to take and send him nude cellphone photographs of herself in April.
According to East Hampton Town Detective Sgt. Greg Schaefer, police received a call from the girl’s school principal “in reference to some disturbing emails sent through a school laptop” to Jeffrey R. Card of Collins Avenue.
A complaint filed in East Hampton Town Justice Court by the police states that Mr. Card convinced a girl under the age of 16 to take the photographs using a cellphone he had provided to her. His alleged possession of those photographs after she sent them to him is also a crime.
The alleged victim’s name was not included in the court documents, which is standard under New York State Law for sex-crime victims.
In addition to the felony charges of using a child under 17 years old for a sexual performance and possession of such images of a child under 16, Mr. Card is charged with two misdemeanors: acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17 and tampering with a “computer program of another person,” apparently for accessing her personal information.
The first felony charge is the most serious, carrying required prison time if he is convicted.
After being questioned by detectives, Mr. Card was arrested at about 2 a.m. on Nov. 10. According to the accusatory document, Mr. Card admitted committing the crimes when he told police, in part, “I deleted all the nude photos that she sent to me.”
He was arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court in front of Justice Lisa R. Rana later on Nov. 10. The district attorney’s office asked bail to be set at $100,000. However, citing Mr. Card’s lifelong residency in the town, Justice Rana set bail at $25,000, not believing him a flight risk. It was an amount he could not meet.
After five days in custody, he was released, because he had not been indicted in that time period, as proscribed by state law. The indictment, however, came three days later.
Detective Schaefer said Mr. Card was using Facebook and other social media sites to cultivate relationships with young women, and that there “could be numerous victims.”
East Hampton Town police did not release any information on Mr. Card’s arrest at the time, apparently because the investigation was ongoing.
The case has been turned over to John W. Cortes of District Attorney Thomas Spota’s Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Bureau.
“This was excellent detective work and we feel fortunate that no other victims have come forward as of now,” East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said Tuesday, via email. “There is a potential for other cases resulting from the forensic work” being done by the Suffolk County Police Department’s crime lab, the chief said, but added that “no other local cases are currently pending.”
“Obviously, there is concern over the local connections and the use of social media. Today’s Internet and the availability of access to personal information need to be on the minds of everyone, particularly the parents of teens.”
Mr. Card has been in county jail in Riverside since being arraigned on the felony charges before State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kahn on Nov. 24. Justice Kahn set bail at $25,000, which has not been posted. Douglas O’Connor of the Legal Aid Society, Mr. Card’s attorney, entered his not-guilty plea during the arraignment.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 21.