Greenwich Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Offense

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that CHRISTOPHER BATES JR., 37, of Greenwich, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to a child exploitation offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an international law investigation revealed that an IP address at Bates’ residence was being used to access the dark web to view images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children.  On November 30, 2022, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents interviewed Bates, who consented to a search of his electronic devices.  A forensic review of one of his laptops revealed approximately 1,222 images and two videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including infants.

Bates, who is an attorney admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut, pleaded guilty to possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Bates was arrested on December 13, 2022.  He is released on a $300,000 bond under electronic monitoring pending sentencing.

This matter has been investigated by HSI with the assistance of Greenwich Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Daniel Gordon.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.