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  Old Greenwich Pastor Released on Child Pornography Charges

By Ken Borsuk
Greenwich Post
July 4, 2010

http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/greenwich-post/news/local/63088-old-greenwich-pastor-released-on-child-pornography-charges.html

Simeon Stefanidakis, the former head of an Old Greenwich church now facing federal child pornography charges, has been released from custody but is mandated to stay in Massachusetts.

Mr. Stefanidakis, 59, was arraigned in federal court June 23 in Boston, Mass., and was released by a judge on a $50,000 bond. Under the terms of his release, he is restricted to remain in Massachusetts, where he will be living with an acquaintance, and cannot have any contact with children or any access to the Internet. He will also have on an electronic monitoring device and faces a curfew of 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. at an approved residence.

Mr. Stefanidakis, who is on leave with pay from the Albertson Memorial Church in Old Greenwich where he had worked as a minister and teacher, has been charged with four counts of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. If convicted, Mr. Stefanidakis faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the four transportation charges and up to 10 years on the possession charge along with a $250,000 fine. If ever released from jail following a conviction, he would be under supervised release for the rest of his life.

No next court date has been set for Mr. Stefanidakis at this time. He was arrested in June as part of an investigation led by the FBI through Project Safe Childhood, which is a nationwide program designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Allegedly, on Oct. 9, 2008 Mr. Stefanidakis knowingly transported and shipped four computer files that had "visual depictions" of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and again on March 12, 2009 authorities claim he was in possession of computer files that showed minors engaging in sexual conduct.

Contact: kborsuk@greenwich-post.com

 
 

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