A prominent East Hampton attorney turned himself in Wednesday on 11 felony counts of possession of material containing child sexual performance and was arraigned in East Hampton Town Justice Court.
The appearance marks the culmination of an eight-month investigation by the East Hampton Village Police Department.
Investigations into Eric N. Brown, 61, a former partner at the Ackerman, Pachman, Goldstein & Margolin law firm, began after the material was found accidentally in March.
"We only found it by accident when we were having technical work done on our computers," Lenny Ackerman, the head of the firm, said Wednesday. "We immediately discharged him and reported him to the police. I am saddened by this. Saddened for his family and for any victims harmed by his actions."
Detective Sgt. Jennifer Dunn said Wednesday morning that no child could be identified in the material seized and that it appeared the images and videos were taken from the internet. Police did not make an arrest immediately, she said, because they needed time to search the rest of Mr. Brown's devices, which they did after receiving a search warrant for his house.
During his arraignment Wednesday, Mr. Brown appeared in handcuffs, his hair messy. He put his head down as he entered the holding area. Justice Steven Tekulsky noted that Mr. Brown has been living in Vermont, where he has had ties. He graduated from law school there in 1991.
Justice Tekulsky freed the him on supervised release, instructing him to register with the county's Probation Department. Dan Rodgers, his attorney, said he would head directly to the probation office in Riverhead upon leaving the courthouse.
As for bail, Justice Tekulsky said the district attorney was "not asking for anything more" than supervised release. He noted that Mr. Brown had turned himself in to police voluntarily, as agreed, on Wednesday, and has no prior brushes with the law.
However, Justice Tekulsky added, there is a "likelihood of prison time." Each of the felony counts carries a four-year prison term or 10 years of probation, along with mandatory inclusion on the sex offender registry.
"He has pleaded not guilty. These are only allegations," Mr. Rodgers said in the hallway outside the courtroom. "He looks forward to his day in court." He declined to comment further.
After moving here in 1993, Mr. Brown served as an assistant town attorney and special prosecuting attorney. When Jay Schneiderman was elected town supervisor in 2000, he named Mr. Brown his general counsel and chief of staff. Mr. Brown moved with Mr. Schneiderman to county government later, when he was elected as a county legislator.
Mr. Brown had been involved in the community, as well. As recently as 2024, he was a board member of the East Hampton Food Pantry.
Reached for comment Wednesday, Mr. Schneiderman said, "That's a complete shocker," adding that he hadn't spoken to Mr. Brown in years. "I don't know what to say, other than, it's completely out of character. There was never any indication of anything that would suggest anything deviant."
"As a past law enforcement officer, and after talking with the detective who handled the case, this is one of the most disturbing cases that has been in our jurisdiction," East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said Wednesday.
Mr. Brown's lawyer is scheduled to return to Justice Court without him on Dec. 17. Justice Tekulsky said the defendant's presence would not be necessary.