Former Long Island educator, coach sentenced to 5 years in prison for receiving child pornography

NEW YORK — A former Long Island educator  was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty to downloading video files showing the sexual abuse of children as young as eight years old.  The initial arrest stemmed from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) in New York and the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Kevin Barry O’Connell was sentenced to five years in prison following his guilty plea to receiving child pornography at his residence in Patchogue, New York. O’Connell was also sentenced to five years supervised release to follow his prison sentence, during which time he must register as a sex offender and he will not be allowed unsupervised contact with minors.

According to court filings and facts presented at the guilty plea and sentencing proceedings, O’Connell downloaded video files of the rape and abuse of children as young as eight years’ old, which he kept on thumb drives in his home. During a court-ordered search of his residence in October 2012, O’Connell initially lied to HSI special agents and denied that he possessed child pornography until special agents found three thumb drives in the pocket of a jacket at the house. O’Connell then admitted that he had hidden the drives in the jacket.

Following his arrest, O’Connell was suspended from his employment as an assistant superintendent for secondary education in the Roosevelt Union Free School District. O’Connell had previously served as the principal of Bellport Senior High School in the South Country Central School District and an assistant principal at Walter G. O’Connell Copiague High School. O’Connell was the varsity baseball coach from 1990 to 2001 at William Floyd High School.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allen Bode of EDNY’s Long Island Criminal Section prosecuted this case. 

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.