Man had ‘largest cache of child porn’ ever recovered in county, DA says

An Amityville man has been indicted on charges of harboring a collection of more than 6 million images and videos of child porn, some of which included images of children being raped, officials said Friday.

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini said David Johnson, 58, had “the largest cache of child pornography recovered in Suffolk County history.”

Johnson was caught after investigators discovered the collection of storage devices containing the images at his home on May 14, Sini said.

“The practice, the crime of possessing child pornography, directly fuels the rape of children,” Sini said.

Johnson categorized his library of child porn and erotica by age, race, gender, sex and even physical features, such as wearing glasses, Sini said.

“This is obviously a sick individual, and that’s why we’re treating this with the utmost severity,” Sini said.

Johnson’s attorney declined to comment.

The victims in the videos ranged in age from infancy to 18 years of age, Sini said.

Investigators were first tipped off to the cache when they discovered an MP3 player belonging to Johnson that contained the images and videos on April 25, officials said.

Amityville Village police initially got the tip about Johnson and flagged the Suffolk police computer crimes unit, according to Sini.

FBI agents assisted in apprehending Johnson at his home. Investigators got a warrant for the residence and soon realized they had only scratched the surface with the lone MP3 device, officials said.

In all, 24 data storage devices were found, each with individually named and categorized photos and videos. Those images included sexual conduct, nudity, obscene images and the rape of children, Sini said. Investigators believe Johnson had been amassing his collection for at least the last five years, officials said.

Johnson, who is divorced, lives alone in a residence that is right next to a field at Park Avenue Memorial Elementary School, Sini said.

Johnson, who officials said acquired his cache of child pornography by trading images and videos on the dark web, was arraigned in Riverhead on Friday. He was charged with 200 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child.

Bail was set at $75,000 cash or $150,000 bond. He faces a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted.

“We are ensuring that a dangerous predator such as Mr. Johnson will no longer be a threat to our children,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.
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