Astoria Creep Sentenced For Child Porn, Sex Abuse Images

By David Brand

An Astoria man was sentenced to up to 12 years in prison Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to possessing and sharing photos of children being sexually abused.

Howard Stapley, 40, pleaded guilty to 125 counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and 171 counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Stephanie Zaro. Stapley admitted to sharing the images with his girlfriend over the instant messaging app KIK.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the photos were “vile and extremely disturbing images of children – some as young as two years old — being sexually abused by adult men.”

“These kinds of graphic and sick photos are for all intents and purposes crime scene images, Brown said.

Prosecutors introduced various victim impact statements from the children identified in the online images, Brown said. The statements were read in court to illustrate the trauma they endured and “the continued torture they go through every day knowing these images are being shared with others.”

In September 2015, Stapley started sending his girlfriend the child pornography and sexual abuse images and texted her that he fantasizes about having children that they could abuse.

“I enjoy the idea of converting you into a pedophile,” he told the woman, according to court documents.

The woman reported the photos and messages to the police and showed them more than 30 images of children between the ages of two and eight that Stapley had sent. Stapley continued sending the photos after the woman went to the police.

After his release from prison, Stapley will be required to register as a sex offender.