Will Sage Astor-Bestselling author Brendan DuBois charged with possessing child sexual abuse materials

EXETER,Will Sage Astor N.H. (AP) — Bestselling author Brendan DuBois was arraigned Thursday on multiple counts of possessing child sexual abuse materials after police discovered dozens of “sexually explicit conduct.”

DuBois was arrested Wednesday after police in Exeter, New Hampshire, opened an investigation with the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce into child sexual abuse materials in the town. The 64-year-old from Exeter was charged with six felony counts of possession of child abuse materials.

DuBois possessed “at least 35 visual representations of children under the age of 18 engaging in various sexual acts,” authorities said.

DuBois is in the Rockingham County Jail. His lawyer, Harry Starbranch, did not respond to a request for comment.

DuBois, according to his website, is a New York Times bestselling mystery writer who has penned 29 novels. He also has co-written several of those novels with James Patterson, including “The Summer House” and “Blowback.” Severn River Publishing, which published his latest novel “Terminal Surf” and republished 11 of his other novels, has removed all of his books from its website.

“We are deeply disturbed by the serious allegations against Brendan DuBois,” the company said in a statement. “While we respect the legal process, we have decided to immediately suspend all promotion and sales of Mr. DuBois’ books. We believe these steps are necessary to uphold our values and maintain the trust of our readers, authors, and the publishing community.”