Community Corner

Cops ID Victims in Jay Lockett Sears Case; Sears Remains in Jail

U.S. attorney's office puts out call to parents asking them to reach out if they believe their children have been victimized.

While Quogue philanthropist Jay Lockett Sears remains in jail after a federal magistrate declared him a danger to the community, cops began the task of identifying the girls whose photos he took and transposed onto pornographic material.

According to a report in Newsday, Suffolk Police have already identified several of the children in the photos, which were taken at various Hamptons events, and are seeking an order of protection for them.

The U.S. attorney's office has also put out a call to parents asking them to reach out if they believe their children have been victimized.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

An architect, who has designed homes for celebrities, Sears, 73, of East Moriches, was arrested on one count of child pornography on Friday and appeared in court with his attorney, Daniel Barker, of Riverhead.

Bail was denied on Friday and Newsday reported that Barker told the magistrate at a bail hearing on Monday that his client has not yet come up with a bail package.

Find out what's happening in Westhampton-Hampton Bayswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sears' arrest came after some of the photos that he allegedly created by cutting and pasting the children's faces onto adult porn — a process called morphing — were found in a garbage container at the Brookhaven transfer station. An investigation revealed that the photos originated from Sears' East Moriches home, according to authorities.

The news came as a shock to residents in Westhampton Beach and Quogue where he ran a non-profit, called Mission of Kindness.

Related: Jay Lockett Sears Faces Child Porn Charge; Community Shocked

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