Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph..

Partly cloudy early followed by cloudy skies overnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 64F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.

BURLINGTON — A Bennington man, who authorities maintain was caught with child pornography this week, was ordered detained by a federal magistrate in Burlington on Friday.

Dillion Foster, 31, of North Street, is charged in a federal criminal complaint with knowingly possessing child pornography in Bennington County on Tuesday.

The Vermont case may be dismissed in favor of a federal prosecution in Northern New York, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Lasher said during a detention hearing in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Friday afternoon.

Lasher said he was told an arrest warrant was being issued in New York, but he had not seen it. He said it would be executed.

Assistant Federal Defender Sara Puls agreed, noting the new federal warrant would make the detention hearing in Vermont moot. She said even if Foster was ordered released, he would be taken into custody for the New York case.

Federal Magistrate Kevin Doyle agreed and ordered Foster detained while the prosecution is sorted out.

Lasher, who was filling in for the prosecutor assigned to the case, said the case should all be resolved by Monday and he expected the dismissal would be filed.

The FBI said agents confronted Foster and his girlfriend, Stephanie Ostrander, outside their North Street apartment on Tuesday. Investigators had done surveillance on the home and their two Vermont-registered cars.

Foster was asked about images that were captured as part of a criminal investigation, court records said. Foster admitted he knew possessing and sharing child pornography was wrong and said he has an addiction to child pornography and sex, the FBI said in a court affidavit.

He gave consent to officers having access his cell phone, his social media accounts and his laptop. A check of the cell phone uncovered a photo of a partially nude child, records show.

Foster also surrendered an old cell phone, where investigators found 32 inappropriate pictures, the FBI said.

The investigation had started by May 29, 2020 when investigators determined a target account had shared a video compilation of pre-pubescent girls, ranging from age 4 to 10 years-old, court records show. There also was a share on June 2, 2020 involving a girl estimated to be between 5 and 8 years old, court records show.

A subpoena was used to track the subscriber information for the target account showed the internet account was registered to Charter Communications and was linked to an account held by Foster’s mother, Kelly Brown, court records show.

The address was in Johnsonville, N.Y., about 20 miles west of Bennington, and records show Foster gave up his New York driver’s license about Feb. 22, 2021.

Foster was jailed overnight and appeared briefly in U.S. District Court in Burlington on Wednesday when Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Masterson asked for a few days before holding a hearing on whether he should be detained.

Masterson wrote in court papers that Foster was “an active trader” and admitted that he would send Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) to receive it. She said his collection included “sadistic and masochistic material.”

She added, “He gave a comprehensive statement to the FBI where he submitted to possessing, receiving and distributing CSAM.”

Foster did not enter any plea to the charge. Under federal court rules, a plea is not sought until an indictment is filed by a grand jury.

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