Stamford man expected to reject plea deal in child sexual abuse image case, attorney says

STAMFORD — A city man accused of possessing “a large number” of images and video showing the sexual abuse of children intends to reject a state disposition offer, his attorney said Wednesday.

Assistant State's Attorney Elizabeth Moran said the state has offered Ralph Conte, 55, a 20year prison sentence, which will be suspended after he serves 12 years, and 25 years of probation in return for a guilty plea to first-degree illegal possession of child pornography.

Moran placed the state's disposition offer on the record during a hearing at the state Superior Court in Stamford Wednesday afternoon.

Conte's attorney, Alex J. Martinez, said on

Wednesday that he expects his client to reject the offer and instead will be seeking a supervised judicial pretrial with a Superior Court judge in the hopes of mediating a better offer, he said.

Conte was arrested by Stamford police in March 2022 on a first-degree possession of child pornography charge after police executed a search warrant at his Wells Avenue home. Police discovered photos and video of child sexual abuse on his computer, according to Stamford Police Capt. Diedrich Hohn.

“The images that were found on Mr. Conte's computer…were incredibly disturbing in nature,” said Moran during his March 2022 arraignment.

Moran said at the time that the images and videos portrayed “some of the youngest” victims she had ever seen in a child sex abuse case.

Police began an investigation in May 2021 when Internet Crimes Against Children investigators alerted a Stamford Police investigator of a large number of child sexual abuse images being downloaded to a home in Stamford.

After a months-long investigation, police executed a search warrant at the home where the computer's address was pinpointed, Hohn said. There, investigators seized numerous laptops, phones and thumb drives belonging to the then-54-year-old, Hohn said.

Conte is next expected to appear in court on May 2.