Local charged in child porn arrest

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced on Oct 19 the arrest of Baldwin resident Charles Weaver, 54. Weaver, a level three registered sex offender who served 10 years in jail after sodomizing a young girl, has been charged with “possessing and distributing images and videos of child pornography on the Internet,” a release from Rice’s office said.

Weaver, who was arrested by DA investigators, faces five counts each of possessing a sexual performance by a child, promoting a sexual performance by a child, and promoting a sexual performance by a child as a sexually motivated felony. He faces up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted of these crimes. Weaver has now been remanded to a correctional center.

The operation that lead to Weaver’s arrest commenced in August of 2011, Rice revealed. During this investigation the DA’s office determined that Weaver had “downloaded images and at least 70 videos of child pornography onto his home computer.” The DA then obtained and executed a search warrant at Weaver’s home where numerous child pornography files were reportedly found. Rice said the investigation was still ongoing.

Weaver’s Level 3 registered sex offender status stemmed from a 1990 conviction for sodomizing a 10-year-old girl in Staten Island. He was released from prison in 2000. Weaver had another blot on his record for failing to register as a sex offender in 2009, Rice said. He served an additional year in jail for this offense.

“This defendant is among the worst of the worst, and his arrest should serve as a warning to anyone who believes that they can hide behind a computer screen while committing these horrific crimes,” Rice said.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Glicksman under the supervision of Deputy Bureau Chief Anne Donnelly. Weaver is represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which does not comment on ongoing cases. At his arraignment last week Weaver pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.