ALBANY – A former assemblyman and current parole-board member was busted last night on child-pornography and soliciting charges, officials said.
Chris Ortloff, 61, was arrested in a Plattsburgh-area motel room in a State Police sting at about 5 p.m.
Ortloff, who allegedly had arranged a date on the Internet with an underage victim he thought would provide sex, had child porn and what was described as “sex paraphernalia” in his possession, according to the officials.
They said Ortloff, a Republican who represented Plattsburgh, would likely face felony sex charges under state law, and could also be charged with violating federal anti-child pornography statutes.
Ortloff, married with two sons, could not be reached for comment.
“He was always the tough-on-crime guy in the Assembly who wanted to increase the criminal penalties for all kinds of sex crimes,” said a former associate.
Ortloff, once the Assembly’s assistant minority leader and ex-chairman of the Clinton County GOP, was named to the board by then-Gov. George Pataki in 2006. His term runs through 2012.
He’s one of 19 part-time, $102,000-a-year board members.