Long Beach police arrest man on child porn charges

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The arrests last week of a Brooklyn man and woman on identity theft charges took an alarming turn after Long Beach police said they discovered child pornography on the man’s cell phone.

Long Beach detectives arrested Lawrence Levitt, 57, and Marie Lourdes Dayane Levitt, 53, in Garden City on Feb. 28 and charged them with possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of stolen property and identity theft to commit a felony. The victims of that crime, police said, were Long Beach residents.

“[Lawrence Levitt] was locked up on Feb. 28 for an identity theft, and during the course of our investigation we searched his phone for evidence related to that case and discovered child porn,” said Lt. Eric Cregeen, a spokesman for the Police Department. “It was pretty alarming, and the investigation is ongoing.”

On March 1, Levitt was also charged with possession of sexual performance by child pornography, and police also said that he was a fugitive and charged with an active arrest without a warrant.

He was arraigned on March 2 at Long Beach City Court in front of Judge Corey Klein, and was remanded without bail. Levitt is being held at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, and was scheduled to appear in Nassau County Criminal Court on Thursday. An attorney assigned to represent him could not immediately be reached for comment.