Authorities busted a Long Island Boys Scouts leader Wednesday on charges of trafficking in vile child pornography online.
Nassau County investigators arrested Edward Orenchuk III at his Garden City home after finding hundreds of images on his computer depicting children as young as 5, authorities said.
They said Orenchuk, 23, is a Boy Scouts of America Troop #243 assistant scout master and works as a page at the Garden City Public Library.
“This defendant’s regular contact with children in a position of authority makes these charges that much more disturbing,” said Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice.
Orenchuk was charged with three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and three counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, both felonies. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The Boy Scouts said Wednesday they booted Orenchuk from the organization immediately after learning of the charges.
“We were shocked to learn about the allegations against this individual,” the Theodore Roosevelt Council of Boy Scouts, a regional group, said in statement. “The behavior included in these allegations runs counter to everything for which the Boy Scouts of America stands.”
The organization said it runs criminal background and other checks and maintains mandatory reporting procedures to prevent abuse.
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