Colin Kowlessar, a state parole officer and licensed psychotherapist from Freeport, admitted that he had paid for and possessed child pornography after being stopped at JFK Airport, according to a federal indictment.
According to court documents, the 53-year-old landed at the airport on Feb. 27 when he was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, returning from Guyana. Kowlessar willingly gave his phone and computer passwords to officers who located child pornography.
Homeland Security Special Agent Iana Gutnick said in an affidavit that the cellphone had three videos of prepubescent girls involved in sexually explicit acts and that Kowlessar had been in multiple group chats on the app Telegraph where child pornography was present.
Kowlessar gave a voluntary statement to officers saying he knew the initials “CP” stood for “child porn” and that on multiple occasions he had purchased “CP” with knowledge that the people in the videos were minors.
One of the victims was under the age of 12, according to the indictment.
Federal agents arrested Kowlessar at the airport, but he was released on $250,000 bond.
Kowlessar’s therapist profile on Psychology Today says he has 10 years of experience and helps clients with a wide variety of issues.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on child sexual abuse material possession charges at a federal courthouse in Brooklyn.
Kowlessar’s attorney, Richard Langone, called him “a good guy,” and said he has no criminal history, according to published reports.
