A Suffolk County sheriff’s corrections officer from Ridge was arrested and charged with possessing child sexual abuse material after investigators said videos depicting the sexual abuse of children were found on his cellphone.
Robert Sorrentino, 42, was arrested April 16, 2026, and is scheduled to be arraigned in Suffolk County First District Court on seven counts of Possessing a Sexual Performance by a Child, a Class E felony, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney.
Prosecutors said the investigation began after the FBI identified a cryptocurrency account allegedly used to purchase child sexual abuse material. Authorities said a joint investigation by the FBI and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office linked those alleged purchases to Sorrentino’s home address in Ridge.
During the execution of a search warrant on Sorrentino’s iPhone, investigators allegedly found that he had accessed numerous videos showing the sexual abuse of children between the ages of 5 and 13, according to the district attorney’s office.
Sorrentino is employed as a Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer. Prosecutors also said he is an active member of the United States Air Force Reserves and a member of the Ridge Volunteer Fire Department.
Tierney used the case to again criticize New York’s bail laws, saying prosecutors are legally barred from seeking bail on the charges filed in this case because they are not bail-eligible under current state law.
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. called the allegations deeply disturbing and said they represent a serious breach of public trust. He said the sheriff’s office would continue cooperating with the district attorney’s office as the case moves forward.
If convicted, Sorrentino faces 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison, prosecutors said. He is being represented by Michael Brown, Esq.
The case is being prosecuted by Katharine R. D’Aquila of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office Public Corruption Bureau. The investigation was conducted by the district attorney’s Public Corruption Squad, the office’s Technical Services Unit and the FBI.
Criminal complaints are accusations, and Sorrentino is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
