New York State parole officer indicted for child porn on phone on return from Guyana

Last Updated on Saturday, 2 August 2025, 8:05 by Writer

Story reproduced from New York Post‘s edition of 31st July, 2025

A New York State parole officer who moonlights as a therapist has been indicted after he was found with child pornography on his cellphone during a stop at JFK airport earlier this year, the New York Post reported on Thursday.

Colin Kowlessar, 53, was arrested when Customs and Border Protection agents found videos and photos of child porn on his iPhone during a stop at the airport after returning from a trip to Guyana on Feb. 27, according to a complaint from the time.

Kowlessar, who worked as a parole officer with the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, is expected to be arraigned next week in Brooklyn federal court after a grand jury indicted him Wednesday in the same case on one count of possession of child pornography.

Kowlessar, a husband and father living in Freeport, Long Island, has been free on $250,000 bond since his February court appearance.

The conditions of his release included orders that he surrendered his service gun, agreed not to treat patients under the age of 18 as part of his side gig as a therapist, and stayed away from minors, with the exception of his 16-year-old son from another marriage.

The materials — including three short videos — found on his phone involved girls performing sex acts and were downloaded from the Telegram app, the complaint alleged.

One of the victims was under the age of 12, according to the indictment.

In the app, officers found archived chats in groups called “Underworld VIP” and “freaksonline.com” — which both contained a known code for child porn — an emoji of the number 18 crossed out in red, the court documents claim.

Kowlessar admitted to cops during an interview that “on at least two separate occasions he has purchased ‘CP’ [child porn] knowing that the persons depicted therein were minors,” the complaint alleges. “The defendant also stated that he has since deleted the materials.”

Kowlessar’s criminal defense attorney Rich Langone told The Post by phone Thursday afternoon that “this was an accidental downloading.”

“Be careful when you’re floating around the internet,” Langone said. “You never know what can pop on…and you go on something and something pops up and if it pops up, you could be liable for it.”

“He’s a good man, a family man,” the lawyer said. “He has no criminal history.”

Langone also said his client has never had a negative complaint from his work as a therapist.

The defense attorney confirmed that his client has been on inactive duty as a parole officer since his arrest.

Kowlessar’s online therapist profile says he has 10 years of experience and helps clients with myriad issues, including depression, anxiety, relationship issues, parenting problems, career challenges and substance abuse issues, according to Psychology Today.