Kingston man allegedly promoted necrophilia, bestiality, child sex abuse material
Posted: 3/19/25
KINGSTON — A prominent local and his wife were arraigned on multiple child sex abuse material counts in Kingston City Court on Tuesday.
John Boyle, 33, was charged with promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child, promoting a sexual performance by a child, possessing an obscene sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child. The obscenity charges relate to material Boyle allegedly possessed and promoted that depicted necrophilia, bestiality and bondage involving children potentially as young as 4.
Boyle’s wife, Danielle Scofield, 33, was also arraigned on a charge of promoting an obscene sexual performance of a child. She was previously charged with two child sex abuse material possession counts in Ulster Town Court in October.
All the crimes are felonies. Boyle and Scofield both pleaded not guilty. They were released on a $200,000 bail bond and are due back in court on April 15. Vincent Scala of New York City is representing Boyle while Lisa Pelosi of Poughkeepsie is representing Scofield.
State Police began investigating the couple last year after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, according to Ulster County Assistant District Attorney Jenna Hastings, who leads the office’s Special Victims Bureau and described the investigation in court. The tip involved a sexually explicit image of a girl between the ages of 11 and 13 that was shared on Snapchat. Police were able to trace the account that shared the image and the IP address to Boyle.
Another set of images flagged by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children depicted a girl aged 10 to 13 that Boyle allegedly shared on Flingster, an adult chat site. The images were created at an Airbnb in Florida where Boyle and Scofield stayed in August 2023. Their stay overlapped with when police determined the images were created. Boyle even left a review of the Airbnb.
Under a search warrant issued on Oct. 30, 2024, police obtained Boyle’s phone, where they found more than 1,300 photos and 811 videos allegedly depicting child sexual abuse and pornography. Hundreds of the images showed infants and toddlers, including some in bondage. Dozens more allegedly showed sexual acts involving animals, and at least four depicted child necrophilia, according to Hastings.
Under New York Penal Law, promoting child sex abuse material occurs when a person produces, directs and/or promotes the material knowing that it depicts a child under the age of 17. It often involves selling the material. Boyle allegedly distributed at least 89 photos via text message and two end-to-end encrypted messaging apps, Telegram and Session.
Scofield was initially arrested on Oct. 30, according to the State Police blotter.
Hastings read graphic details from State Police’s investigation into the record, describing some of the material, which allegedly depicted children as young as 4. After about five minutes, Judge Philip W. Kirschner cut her off, stating that the court “had a clear idea” of the nature of the crimes, which he described as “horrific.” He also questioned why law enforcement took more than four months from the search warrant to arraign Boyle. Hastings did not answer the question.
The investigation remains ongoing and additional charges may be filed.
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