Lynn man arraigned on child porn charges

SALEM – A Lynn man authorities say they caught with more than 200 pornographic images of children on his computer is free on $500 bail following his arraignment in Salem Superior Court, but he has been ordered to stay away from children and stay off the Internet.Walter Esteras, 23, of 115B Commercial St., who was indicted last month, was arraigned Wednesday in Salem Superior Court.He pleaded innocent to seven counts of possession of child pornography and three counts of dissemination of child pornography before Judge Howard J. Whitehead.The charges pertain to allegations between Feb. 1, 2010 and June 17, 2010 in which Esteras allegedly shared computer files containing child pornography with an undercover State Trooper posing as an interested participant.Police executed a search of his home, where he lived with his mother at the time, and seized an Acer laptop from a bedroom where Esteras slept.Esteras was not at home at the time of the search. He was found at his brother’s home in Malden and gave police permission to seize and search the laptop.Assistant District Attorney Kristen R. Buxton asked that a $2,000 cash bail be established, saying the alleged crimes involved three disseminated images of a 9-year-old nude girl and that a forensic analysis of his computer revealed 226 pornographic files.Buxton went on to say that she had concerns that although Esteras had conditions set in Lynn District Court that he not use the Internet, she had information that just last week on Facebook chatter, there were some details sharing of the case, which would been a violation of the terms of his release.Defense lawyer Alice Jayne said her client had been out on personal recognizance, reported as required and had refrained from using computers, saying the posting came by a phone access.Jayne said Esteras was born in Boston, but has lived his entire life in Lynn.