UPDATED: Montauk Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Charges

Paul S. Apostolides pleaded guilty to six felony charges related to child sex charges in Suffolk County Criminal Court on Thursday.

Apostolides, an owner of in Montauk, was arrested after a grand jury indicted him in November 2011 on incidents that East Hampton Town police said occurred in Montauk.

His attorney Brian J. DeSesa, with Edward D. Burke's firm in Sag Harbor, said Apostolides took a deal with regard to computer and Internet-related charges that he said came about "based on Paul's ignorance of the computer."

"There was no evidence of any contact or inappropriate behavior with children," DeSesa said on Friday. "Compliments to the DA, who saw that."

Part of the deal is that Apostolides will serve four to six months in prison and serve 10 years of probation with alcohol and narcotic conditions.

Out on $150,000 bond since Nov. 7, he was remanded to jail. Sentencing is scheduled for May 18.

Robert Clifford, a spokesman for the Suffolk County DA's office, said, "This disposition was reached in order to spare the victim from the trauma of testifying in open court."

According to court records, he pleaded guilty before Justice Barbara Kahn to five counts of possession of sexual performance by a child and one count of promoting a sexual performance by a child less than 17.

Some of the indictment charges are covered by the plea, according to court records, including course of sexual conduct against a child in the second degree with a child less than 13, second-degree rape, sexual conduct against a child less than 13, child endangerment, another 10 counts of sexual performance by a child, and five possession of a sexual performance by a child.

One charge of child endangerment, which is a misdemeanor, was dismissed in January.

Clifford said on Friday evening that Apostolides has been registered as a sex offender since his plea, but that they’ll decide which level (1,  2 or level 3) at a hearing at a later date.

Following the arrest, Detective Lt. Chris Anderson said the investigation was launched after a complaint was filed and took place over the course of several months.

DeSesa said the past five months have been extremely difficult ones for his client, who had a clean record. "His family and friends stood by him," DeSesa said, adding that his client took the plea to bring an end to the situation. "He'll be able to go back and run his store and be with his family," DeSesa said.

Apostolides is also a resident of Islip.

Correction: Apostolides pleaded guilty to six, not 11 felony counts, which was indicated on the county's website initially.