Sex Offender In Bay Shore Accused Of Possessing Child Porn: PD

BAY SHORE, NY — A registered sex offender accused of possessing child pornography was arrested Wednesday evening at his home at 1075 Oak Neck Road in Bay Shore, police said.

Salvatore Passarelli, Jr.'s previous conviction was April 2, 2014, on the felony charge of possessing a sexual performance by a child, according to the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Under New York State law, a person is guilty of possessing a sexual performance by a child when, knowing the character and content thereof, he knowingly has in his possession or control, or knowingly accesses with intent to view, any performance which includes sexual conduct by a child less than 16 years of age. Possessing a sexual performance by a child is a class E felony.

Passarelli was classified Level 1 after his 2014 conviction, a designation for those considered at low risk of committing another sex crime and harm to the community; so he is not on New York State's public online registry, which by law only includes individuals with a Level 2 or Level 3 risk level.

In February, Suffolk County police began investigating after a tip from the New York State Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

On Feb. 29, Digital Forensics Unit detectives, Canine Section officers and Third Precinct officers executed a search warrant at Passarelli's home and seized several electronic devices.

Police said they found images of child pornography. Multiple unregistered screen names and internet identifiers were also located.

All registered sex offenders must report to the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services any Internet accounts with Internet service providers belonging to such offenders and e-mail addresses and designations used for the purposes of chat, instant messaging, social networking or other similar internet communication. In addition, a registered sex offender must notify the Division no later than 10 days after any change of the above-mentioned Internet information.
Failure to comply is a crime. It is an E felony upon conviction for the first failure to comply with any registration requirement and a D felony for any subsequent conviction. Failure to register, verify or provide the required information as described above may also be the basis for revocation of parole or probation.

After further investigation by Digital Forensics Unit detectives, assisted by Special Victims Unit detectives, Passarelli was arrested at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.

The 36-year-old faces charges of promoting a sexual performance by a child, possessing a sexual performance by a child, and two counts of Sex Offender Registry violations, all felonies.

He was held overnight at the Third Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Thursday.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Digital Forensics Unit at 631-852-6279.