New sheriff changes policy day before naming him

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department on Aug. 18 announced the arrest in May of Robert L. Langley III of Mahopac on four counts of possessing child pornography.

Langley III, 36, is the son of former Sheriff Robert L. Langley Jr., who until recently resided in Philipstown. Sheriff Kevin McConville defeated Langley in the November election.

The sheriff had issued a news release on Aug. 10 reporting the arrest of an unnamed Mahopac man on child porn charges. On Aug. 17, the department announced a change in its policy on news releases, saying it would begin identifying suspects. It then amended the Aug. 10 release by adding Langley III’s name.

As of Thursday (Aug. 25), no other past releases had been updated.

In its initial release, the department said investigators had received information from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that images and videos of child sexual abuse were being shared online from a residence in the Town of Carmel, which includes Mahopac. A search warrant was executed on May 25.

Langley III was charged with felony possession of child pornography and released pending an appearance in the Town of Carmel court.

The Sheriff’s Department said that it had stopped including names in its news releases after consulting with the county Law Department. In its Aug. 17 announcement of the policy change, it cited a lawsuit filed against the county three years ago that resulted in a financial settlement. The individual had been named in a news release before charges were dropped, it said. Jennifer Bumgarner, the county attorney, did not respond to an email asking for more details.

In its statement, the Sheriff’s Department said it would continue to withhold names that “compromise ongoing investigations and/or witnesses.” The state Freedom of Information Law allows police to withhold information that they determine would interfere with investigations or legal proceedings; deprive a person of a right to a fair trial; identify a confidential source; or endanger someone’s life.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

A former longtime national magazine editor, Rowe has worked at newspapers in Michigan, Idaho and South Dakota and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University. Location: Philipstown. Languages: English. Area of Expertise: General.

3 replies on “Former Sheriff’s Son Accused of Having Child Porn”

  1. So what? I loved the former sheriff and thought he was a good man. Our children do not define us.

  2. I happened to like Sheriff Langley. He was more than a photo op — he was a cop who had no problem backing his officers on heavy calls. After 33 years working in the New York State courts, where anything except Family Court and Mental Health Court is public, I find this quite disturbing. Politics does not belong in law enforcement.

  3. Sheriff McConville’s flip-flop decisions about which names are publicized have the appearance, at least in this case, of being based on political animosity toward the former sheriff. It’s the same with the timing of the release of the results of the Sheriff’s Department study into staffing and overtime, which clearly supported Langley’s assertions that the department is understaffed, causing a costly need to pay overtime.

    Such pettiness is childish, but par for the course with Putnam County government.

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