GREENWICH — A local man was arrested on child pornography charges Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
Christopher Bates Jr., 36, was charged with receipt and possession of child pornography after investigators discovered an IP address at his home had been used to view images and videos depicting child sexual abuse on the dark web, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Bates appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was released on $300,000 bond under electronic monitoring, the office said.
Bates consented to a search of his electronic devices when interviewed by agents with Homeland Security Investigations on Nov. 30, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. While a full forensic examination of the devices is not complete, one of his laptops was found to contain around 1,000 images depicting child sexual abuse, the office said. The featured children allegedly included infants.
If convicted, Bates could be sentenced to up to 40 total years in prison, the office said.
