A visit to a local Best Buy for a computer repair led to the downfall of an East Elmhurst man who admitted in court on Wednesday to downloading child pornography.
Michael Murray, 63, plead guilty to promoting a sexual performance by a child after police confirmed that he had hundreds of pornographic photos on his laptop, according to District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
The discovery was made after Murray brought his laptop in for repair at a Best Buy, located at 50-01 Northern Blvd. in Long Island City, on March 26, 2014. When the technician turned on Murray’s computer, prosecutors said, the screen saver started displaying a slide show of multiple images of young girls posing provocatively and pictures of girls engaged in sex acts with adult men.
The technician then told his supervisor who called the police. Authorities later visited Murray’s residence and he admitted to exchanging files of child pornography with others on the Internet for about five years.
Police conducted a forensic exam of his computer and found nearly 400 images of child pornography.
“The defendant has now admitted to having vile, disturbing images of children on his computer’s hard drive, which he even used as a screen saver slide show,” Brown said. “It is important for the public to remember that these photographs depict real children who have been sexually abused. They are youngsters who will forever be emotionally and physically scarred by what happened to them.”
Murray is expected back in court on March 22, when Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard L. Buchter is expected to sentence him to serve one to three years in prison.
