DA: Sex offender caught with child porn

A 54-year-old Baldwin man charged with possessing and distributing child pornography is a Level 3 sex offender convicted in 1990 of sodomizing a 10-year-old girl in Staten Island, Nassau prosecutors said Thursday.

Charles Weaver was arrested Wednesday and charged with five counts each of possessing a sexual performance by a child, promoting a sexual performance by a child and promoting a sexual performance by a child as a sexually motivated felony, Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.

Weaver, who faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was held without bail, Rice said.

He is being represented by the Nassau County Legal Aid Society, which does not comment on individual cases.

In a statement, Rice said an investigation into the exchange of online child pornography in August and September determined that Weaver had downloaded "at least 70 videos of child pornography onto his home computer."

A search of his apartment confirmed the computer contained "numerous child pornography files," the statement said.

Weaver served 10 years in prison for the 1990 conviction before being released in 2000.

He later pleaded guilty for failing to register as a sex offender and served one year in jail, Rice said.

Weaver is due back in court Friday, officials said.

With Ann Givens