Hamptons real estate lawyer Eric Nelson Brown charged after thousands of child porn images found on his computers, police say

A prominent East End attorney, who at one time served as chief of staff to former East Hampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, is facing criminal charges after investigators found more than 3,500 child porn images and videos on his personal and work computers, cellphones and electronic devices — images involving victims ranging from infants to teens, police said.

East Hampton Village police said Eric Nelson Brown, 61, surrendered at police headquarters on Wednesday. Court records show Brown, a former East Hampton resident who now lives in Dover, Vermont, was arraigned in Town Justice Court before Judge Steven Tekulsky on Thursday, charged with 11 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child.

Brown was released with pretrial supervision administered by the Suffolk County Probation Department, law enforcement officials said. He is due back in court on Dec. 17.

The attorney of record for Brown could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

A representative of Ackerman, Pachman, Goldstein & Margolin, the law firm where Brown once was a partner, told Newsday "no comment" when contacted Thursday.

East Hampton Village Police Det. Sgt. Jennifer Dunn told Newsday the investigation began March 5, when the law firm reported "child sexual abuse material" had been discovered on his work computers during a routine system upgrade.

Village police then contacted the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, and warrants were served on Brown's home, where Dunn said investigators seized more than a dozen of Brown's personal electronic devices, among them laptops, tablets and cellphones.

The house, which is currently on the market, is near Springs Elementary School, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. "Thankfully, as of now, we haven't found there's been any in-person contact" involving Brown, Dunn said.

Dunn said investigators recovered more than 18 electronic devices, work and personal, that Brown used.

Dunn said it was a technician from the IT company hired by what was then Ackerman, Pachman, Brown, Goldstein & Margolin, a leading East End real estate firm based in the village, who uncovered the child pornography files during the upgrade of the firm's computer system.

"When they got to Brown's computer they opened a file that was concerning — and that tech contacted his boss, who then contacted the manager at the law firm — and then they contacted us and turned over all the electronics assigned to [Brown]," Dunn said.

Dunn said the district attorney's office elected to pursue the 11 specific charges but that investigators sorting through thousands of images found victims ranging from infants to teens nearing legal age.

The 11-page criminal complaint obtained by Newsday includes a one-page description for each of the 11 images being charged, providing graphic details of each portrayed offense, including sexual encounters between adults and young children.

Law enforcement officials are asking anyone with information on crimes against children to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, Suffolk Crime Stoppers at 800-220-TIPS or East Hampton Village police at 631-324-0777. All calls will remain confidential.