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	Lawyer Sentenced to Home Confinement for Destroying Pornography Evidence By Isabelle Duerme AHN December 18, 2007 http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7009484777 Isabelle Duerme - AHN News Writer Bridgeport, CT (AHN) - A Connecticut lawyer was sentenced to six months of home confinement Monday after being proven guilty of aiding in the destruction of a laptop that contained child pornography. Philip D. Russell was sentenced for apparently helping a Greenwich church cover up the fact that its musical director had child pornography in his laptop. Russell reportedly destroyed the laptop and smashed the hard drive before the authorities arrived at the church to investigate. Russell was hired by the Christ Church, of which he and his family were members, last October 2006 after the pornography was discovered by an employee in the laptop of the church's musical director Robert F. Tate. Mr. Russell apparently advised the church to not report the matter to the authorities, and simply allowed Tate to resign from his post and leave town, after destroying any other possible pieces of evidence that might implicate him. "What could you have been thinking?" asked Judge Alan H. Nevas of the Federal District Court. The AP revealed that Russell pled guilty for not reporting the felony, and is expected to be disbarred. He is, however, "relieved and very happy this case is behind me." The New York Times reported that officials still found further evidence overlooked by Tate, including photos of boys posing with whips, collars, and other items. Tate pled guilty to the charge of possession of child pornography, and is scheduled to receive his sentence, possibly up to 10 years of imprisonment, on the 31st of January. Judge Nevas commented that he had "never, ever seen" a history of sexual abuse such as Tate's, which apparently went back 30 years. "It turns your stomach," he commented. Tate was revealed to have taken New York child prostitutes into the church. He had also sexually abused children from other countries, such as the Philippines, and Thailand.
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