Gets Six Years For Downloading Thousands Of Pics
After pleading guilty on a felony child pornography charge in July, a Woodside man received a sentence of up to six years behind bars, prosecutors announced Thursday, Oct. 2.
Winston Baker, 29 of 30th Avenue, was sentenced by Acting Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chinn-Brandt to between two and six years for promoting a sexual performance by a child, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said. He was given an additional one year, to be served concurrently, on a misdemeanor charge for endangering the welfare of a child as well, Brown stated.
As previously reported, police raided his home in April 2013, performed a forensic analysis of his computer and found more than 1,600 inappropriate images of minors between the ages of two and 11 on his desktop, Brown said.
In pleading guilty, the defendant admitted to sharing the sexually explicit pictures of underage girls, the DA noted. Baker further copped to inappropriately touching a nineyear old girl, and said he began looking at the illicit materials when he was in high school, Brown said.
“More than 1600 images of young girls engaged in sex acts were found on the defendant’s home computer and two hard drives,” Brown said in a statement “It is vitally important for the public to remember that these are not just pictures. For all intents and purposes, these are crime scene photos of innocent children being abused.
Upon his release from prison, Baker will be required to register as a sex offender, it was noted.
“These victims will have to live with these painful memories for the rest of their lives. As such, the sentence meted out by the Court is more than warranted,” Brown added.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Kateri A. Gasper, of the District Attorney’s Computer Crimes Unit of Special Proceedings, prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Anthony M. Communiello, bureau chief of Special Proccedings, and Oscar W. Ruiz, deputy bureau chief.
