‘Legal child porn’ comes under fire
Lawmaker targets Web sites featuring preteen ‘models’
By Mike Brunker
Reporter
MSNBC
March 28, 2002 - The photos of 12-year-old “Amber” cavorting in a swimsuit and various skimpy outfits wouldn’t have raised so much as an eyebrow if they had been posted on a family home page. But on lilamber.com — one of a growing number of “preteen model” sites operating in the legal gray area between innocent imagery and child pornography — they have drawn the attention of the Justice Department and prompted a congressman to declare war on the “reckless endangerment” of such kids by their parents and Web site operators.
“This is an unacceptable way for a child to earn lunch money … performing like a circus animal,” Rep. Mark Foley said of the sites, which feature girls as young as 6 wearing revealing clothing and striking sexually suggestive poses but display no nudity or overt sexual material that would run afoul of child pornography laws. “It sickens you that a parent would have such disregard for their own child.”
Foley, R-Fla., was informed by the Justice Department earlier this month that, at his request, it had instructed the FBI to review the pre-teen sites in order to determine whether they are breaking any laws. Foley also asked a House Judiciary subcommittee to hold hearings on the subject, which would allow parents of the girls and the Web site operators to be subpoenaed.
“Lil Amber,” the site that touched a raw nerve for Foley, is one of dozens of preteen “model” sites that have popped up on the Internet over the last few years.
Most customers are adults
There is ample evidence that the sites, which sell photos and videotapes to members, cater primarily to adults, very few of whom are in the market to hire models. Many — if not most — customers are sexually interested in children, and some are pedophiles, according to law enforcement officials and children’s advocates.
“This is legal child porn,” said Ken Lanning, a retired FBI agent who studied deviant sexual behavior during most of his 30 years with the bureau. “It’s not against the law, but it’s exciting and stimulating and arousing for people with a certain deviant interest.”
Officials at Webe Web Inc., the Davie, Fla., Web-hosting company behind a half-dozen pre-teen “model” sites, including “Lil Amber,” have previously denied that the sites cater to pedophiles or constitute child pornography. But after a rash of bad publicity — including an investigation by NBC’s Miami affiliate, WTVJ/NBC 6, that revealed many previously unreported details about “Amber,” her family and the company — they are no longer doing so.
“No one here is going to talk about it anymore,” said a man who answered the phone at Webe Web’s offices but declined to give his name.
'Mommy' defends site
But in an e-mail conversation between MSNBC.com and an individual who says she is the mother of another pre-teen model known as “Jessi the Kid,” the respondent said the site was created to help her daughter fulfill her dream of becoming an actress and was no more racy than ads for fashion lines such as Benetton that appear every day in national publications. Furthermore, she said, the media are focusing only on the revealing outfits and missing the other material on the site geared to appeal to other kids.
“Our site is filled with so many wonderful things that any kid would be happy to see and browse through,” said the respondent, who signed her e-mail as “Mommy.” “Why are you stuck on the few photos we have of her in her custom-made clothing? Have you seen the great updates where she shows you how to make an excellent salmon dish using only tinfoil to bake it with? What about the very fun and informative software reviews that took her months to put together? Any [of] her Yoga video/pics!??”
But fan discussion groups on Yahoo! and Internet news groups support the contention that the child models’ most ardent fans are adults, said Scott Zamost, a WTVJ producer who spent four months investigating the “Lil Amber” site and Webe Web, which also hosts several adult porn sites.
“You could tell by the postings that these weren’t kids who were viewing the sites. Some people were posting poetry,” Zamost said, adding that “Lil Amber’s” fan club at one time had more than 9,000 members.
A chilling quip
Likewise, on an Internet news group for “girl-lovers,” a subscriber who identified himself as “Rainbow” posted a brief positive review of the new “Jessithekid” Web site in December 1999, then signed off with this chilling quip: “Anyone for 10-ish? (groan).”
Foley, who is co-founder of a congressional caucus devoted to issues surrounding missing and exploited children, learned of the pre-teen sites late last year when WTVJ asked about them.
“I was outraged when I first saw it because it’s being passed off as some career-building opportunity or [raising money] to apply for college,” he said, referring to statements on several of the sites saying the proceeds will go toward the girls’ college educations. “To me, it borders on pornography and indentured servitude.”
After purchasing a membership to “Lil Amber” site, which cost $25 for the first month and $19.95 a month thereafter, MSNBC.com reviewed dozens of photos and purchased a videotape for an additional amount to determine how far the site’s creators were willing to go.
In all instances, the material stopped well short of what is popularly considered child porn. The shots showed “Amber” (which is not her real name) in bathing suits, short shorts and skimpy halter tops, but never revealed any genitalia or her breasts. Some of the photos were disturbing — such as one in which she appeared to have been rolled in clay — but others could just as well have been from a backyard birthday party.
MTV meets bad home movies
“Video #4 — Amber Models Summer Fashions” was like a cross between MTV and bad home movies. “Amber” spent most of the hourlong tape energetically dancing in front of a fireplace in a living room, with a placard reading “Jesus” and a family photo on the mantelpiece and a dog statuette alongside.
She “modeled” a dozen different outfits during the dance-a-thon, apparently fashions that were requested or purchased by Web site members. In one scene, she lifted her skirt, giving the briefest glimpses of underwear. In another, the unidentified cameraman lay on the floor and shot up her skirt as she danced away un-self-consciously. That was as far as it went.
At another point in the videotape, an unidentified man whose face was not shown presented her with a new Dell Computer and said, “This was a gift from all your fans … 15 different people.”
Lanning, the retired FBI agent, reviewed a sampling of the photos at MSNBC.com’s request and said that at least one conceivably could considered child pornography under a 1994 decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In that case, U.S. v. Knox, the court ruled that language in the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977 prohibiting the “lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area” can include “non-nude depictions.” The court upheld the conviction of defendant Stephen Knox on the grounds that videotapes he had purchased showing children posing in leotards were marketed as being sexually exciting.
'Lacivious intent'
But Lanning noted that even under that decision, which set precedent only in the 3rd Circuit, prosecutors would have to prove “lascivious intent” on the part of the parents or the Web site operators for a successful prosecution. That would be particularly difficult given that the pre-teens are being presented on the Web sites as “models” rather than sexual objects.
Debbie Mahoney, CEO of Safeguarding Our Children — United Mothers (SOCUM), an organization that aims to protect children from pedophiles, says prosecutors also have an abundance of more clear-cut cases to pursue.
“The is so much hard-core child pornography and so many pedophiles on the Internet that when prosecutors see a kid like this, they say, ‘It may be egregious, but it’s not child porn, so let’s move on to something that we can prosecute,’” she said.
But Rep. Foley said he intends to explore a new legal avenue — whether the parents of the child models could be prosecuted under child-endangerment laws.
“This is reckless endangerment if I’ve ever seen it because you’re basically introducing your child to some really sick people,” Foley told MSNBC.com this week.
Risk of pedophile stalkers?
Such laws vary from state to state, but in general that would require a prosecutor to show that posing for the Web site would subject a child to a “substantial risk of harm.” In the case of the pre-teen sites, both potential physical harm from a pedophile stalker and possible psychological trauma from being treated as a sexual object could be considered, said Chris Paulitz, an aide to Foley.
The idea that a stalker could track down a child model was bolstered by the fact that Zamost and his WTVJ team were able to track down “Amber” and her family, starting out with only a hint from Webe Web co-founder Jeff Libman that she might live in Palm Beach County and visual clues in the photos and videos in which she appeared.
The girl’s mother and step-father declined a request for an interview, but armed with their identities, the TV crew was able to determine that the mother had been a porn performer on an adult Web site several years earlier. Through court records, the crew also was able to track down the girl’s father, who said he was opposed to the site, Zamost said.
Study of risk urged
But anecdotal evidence like that likely would not be enough to persuade a jury to convict on child endangerment charges, said Howard Davidson, director of the American Bar Association’s Center for Children and the Law.
“One would have to document the risks to children of engaging in these modeling sites … rather than just be speculative about the dangers,” he said. “If there had been cases where kids had been sexually abused as a result of involvement, then I think it would be easier to sustain both in the legislature and, ultimately, in the courts.”
Such an approach also would raise raise serious First Amendment concerns, said Kim Hart, director of the National Child Abuse Defense and Resource Center.
“I think that we need to define child endangerment to make sure that we’re not casting a really broad net,” she said. “Does that mean that today we would charge Brooke Shields’ mother for ‘Blue Lagoon’?”
Hart, whose non-profit group seeks to ferret out cases of falsely reported child abuse, also said that while modeling pictures such as those on the “Lil Amber” site are distasteful, they don’t necessarily equate with endangerment.
“Just because someone does something that you don’t like, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t care about their children,” she said. “… If you want to check out the parents and make sure that the child is being clothed and fed and going to school, fine.”
'Unsavory,' but not illegal
Stephen B. Levine, a professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and an expert on sexuality, made a similar point.
“I think it’s reasonable to think that these sites are pandering to pedophiliac interests ... and they are unsavory,” he said. “But this is America, where we tolerate lots of unsavory things for freedom of expression, and I don’t think we’re willing to give up these freedoms.”
While the implications of the effort to crack down on the pre-teen “model” sites will continue to be debated, the girl known as Amber will no longer figure in the discussions.
She abruptly ended her career as an Internet “model” in December with no explanation and was replaced with a new “Lil Amber,” who bears more than a passing resemblance to the original. A posting on a now-deactivated Yahoo! fan group states that “Amber has passed on her legacy to a new model, 11-year-old Jana. ... Amber supports this group ... and [has] authorized it as Jana’s official fan group.”
Her successor doesn’t yet have her own video, but the “Lil Amber” site promises that one is coming soon.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
© 2005 MSNBC.com
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3339966/

ANOTHER ARTICLE ABOUT SUBJECT

Parents: Can You Say, ‘My Daughter the Porn Star’?     7/17/2002Parents: Can You Say, ‘My Daughter the Porn Star’?
Preteen ‘Models’ Being Marketed on the Internet
By Jan LaRue
Hardly a day passes without news of a pedophile using the Internet for child pornography and soliciting sex with kids. A child is taken from her home in the middle of the night and we read, “Police are checking the computer for leads.” Quite often they find evidence of e-mail and/or chat room interaction between the victim and a sexual predator. Too often, we learn that the parents were clueless about their child’s Internet habits. Some parents learn about cyberspace evil the hard way.
Then there are other parents—some you’d like to smack up-side-the head, as Grandpa used to say. These are permitting their young daughters, some only five years old, to “model” their seductively posed and scantily clad bodies on Web sites where perverts can pay the monthly subscription fee and lust after the little ones. Free teaser images provide the hook.
A Web search on July 16 for “Legal preteen model Web sites” generated 12,400 hits. Site after site features little girls with make-up, hairdos, and clothing, what there is of it, posed in ways and with come-hither looks that are totally unnatural for little girls. One girl about age seven has enough make-up and blond hair to make Dolly Parton feel undone. They have names like, “Miss Electra,” “Stacy Starlet,” “Heavenly Faith,” and “Maddie Model — the cutest five-year-old preteen model.”
Why would parents permit such a thing? One site solicits visitors with this come-on: “So what are you waiting for? You only live once! Profits go to Jessi’s college fund.”
Stripping for dollars—a good prep school for the Ivy League; or is the centerfold league more likely? Whatever they might “profit” from their daughter’s exploitation ought to be set aside for her possible need for counseling for her drug or alcohol addiction and abuse at the hands of sex addicts, once she moves on to the big leagues. Such is the life of a stripper. If you think not, ask “Amy’s Friends,” a ministry helping women get out of the sex and porn industry. Ask any cop who has worked sex crimes against kids what he thinks about parents exploiting young girls in this way.
Dr. Ernie Allen, president and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, expressed in no uncertain terms the Center’s position on child “model” sites: “We think they’re just outrageous! Our view is that they clearly exploit children and take advantage of the fine legal distinction between illegal child pornography and child erotica. The overwhelming motive and intended purpose is to whet the appetite of child predators and pedophiles. The appetizer sites often have hyperlinks to sites with illegal child porn. We are absolutely convinced they intend to exploit children.”
The encouraging news is that operators, including parents, of some of these young “model” sites are getting busted. Charges include production of child pornography and child sexual exploitation under state and federal laws.
Those arrested include James and Donna Cummings of Magazine, Arkansas, free on bail on a state felony charge of “engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print medium.” The Cummingses featured “cheesecake” photos of their 12-year-old daughter on their Web site. Sheriff’s deputies serving a search warrant in the Cummingses’ residence found a videotape of their daughter that is described as “significantly more explicit” than the Web site photos. The trial is scheduled for July 22. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Gary Lee Smith, 35, of Missouri, was indicted in March by a federal grand jury on federal child porn charges. Smith is charged with employing and enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction and for operating a preteen “model” Web site that transmitted the images across state and national borders. The charges allege that Smith photographed a 12-year-old girl who posed for him in a hotel room. Smith, who has a prior conviction of sexual abuse of a 16-year-old girl in Arkansas, is free on bail. If convicted of all three charges, he faces up to 90 years in prison without parole and a fine up to $750,000.
The third bust occurred April 5 in Arapahoe County, Colorado, when sheriff’s deputies arrested James Steven Grady, 42, who operated the now unavailable “TrueTeenBabes” and “TrueTeenCams” Web sites. Deputies seized more than 100,000 images of girls, including 220 that feature underage girls posed nude or partially nude. Grady is charged with 886 felony counts of sexual exploitation of children under a state law and could be sentenced to life in prison. He remains in jail awaiting a trial scheduled for October 3.
Last year, WTVJ/NBC 6 in Miami reported that a Florida company was operating Web sites featuring teen and preteen girls who reportedly had their parents’ permission. As a result of the report, Reps. Mark Foley (R-Florida) and Nick Lampson (D-Texas) introduced the “Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act of 2002” (HR 4667). The bill would prohibit employing or displaying a minor under the age of 17 in “exploitive child modeling,” which is defined as “the display of a minor (through any medium) without a direct or indirect purpose of marketing a product or service other than the minor.” On May 7, the bill was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the Committee on the Judiciary.
Some of the preteen model sites are obviously gearing up a defense in case HR 4667 becomes law. One site claims, “This is not a Child Modeling Website” and “All videos on the site are for providing a service—educating in the arena of fitness and nutrition” and “modeling merchandise.” All clothing is supposedly modeled for the purpose of sales, but there are no prices, descriptions or sizes listed. Clicking on “inquiries about sales” sends you back to the home page, where you can buy a video. For “nutrition” information, visitors are informed, “Lisa and Jasmine will cook one nutritious meal every week which will be updated in an online video. Some of the cooking will also be on our live web cam.” No doubt what you can’t learn about cooking by watching Emeril Live, you can learn from these seven-year-old Julia Childs. There’s a weekly live “cam show” and a chat room to “upload files, share e-mail, pictures and chat and more.”
If a training camp for future porn stars were run by Flynt, Guccioni or Hefner — what would it look like? Been there — seen it. And with the claim of “parental permission.”
Gramps — they need a smack up-side-the-head.
Jan LaRue is chief counsel of Concerned Women for America and a frequent contributor to Culture & Family Report. An interview with LaRue, in which she reveals her incredible life journey — from being molested as a youth to faith in Christ, to becoming a pro-family attorney — appears in the current edition of the CWA magazine Family Voice (July-August 2002). To receive a complimentary copy, call 1-800-458-8797, ext. 130.

 [Cool Teen Sites]
The following have been archived to prevent loss.  Copyrights remain with originators.
Underage Model Photographer Gary Smith Arrested
by LAJ
Those who frequent the Yahoo! clubs and chat rooms for underage model websites may recognize the name "SirSpiffy", a.k.a. photographer Gary Smith, 35, who was arrested at his home in Chicago by the Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff's Department last Friday on an Arkansas arrest warrant (but as of this writing he has not officially been charged with any crime). Previously arrested in Arkansas for violating a previous plea agreement in 1997 over a sexual incident with his 15 year-old babysitter, Smith had pled guilty and registered for five years as a sex offender in the state of Illinois upon his move there, to avoid jail time, but still maintains the opportunity to work with models of any age. His mug shot can be found here:
An undisclosed source tells YNOT News that Smith posted $5,000 bond after being held in custody overnight, and since he is still a registered sex offender, much of his computer equipment, videos and disks were confiscated during the arrest. There were a few adult models present at Smith's house last Friday when his arrest and the subsequent raid took place, and everyone was allegedly held for questioning for several hours before they were released. According to a model present at the time of arrest, after Smith bonded out, "he seemed like he was going to leave Chicago for an undetermined amount of time." But as of this writing, regardless of locations, it would appear that Smith is still active in the teen model community as he is regularly posting on the Yahoo! clubs chat boards.
Smith got his start in the Internet as a programmer in the mid-90s before making the foray into photography. He also ran adult sites for models over 18. He later would go on to start several underage model sites that feature scantily clad girls between the ages of 11 and 17. These sites are based on the adult paysite business model: he started the sites himself with his own money and splits the profits with the models.
Models over the age of 18 often stay with Smith at his house at his invitation when they travel to Chicago for photo shoots, but according to one source who knows Smith, "He got into this business to meet and lay women, and has made unwanted advances on some of the models. I wouldn't do business with him, and I warn others who ask me about him. All models of all ages should do some kind of a background check on anybody that they work with anyway."
"Even if some of these underage models or their parents didn't know about Smith's history, what I don't understand is how any parent would sign off on a release on this kind of stuff for their kid… it's scary what so many of these parents will allow" another source wishing to remain anonymous stated. They added "The FBI had been notified as early as a year ago about Smith's practices on the Internet, and that he had made advances on models, and even though he 'appeared' to be operating legally to them, it took the authorities until now to actually check into it."
It is undetermined how much income some of the underage models make from their sites, but four figures a month, are not out of the question. Even with model site saturation being what it is on the Internet nowadays, five figures a month is still possible in extreme cases. One often wonders who these types of sites are aimed after. "Lonely pedophiles looking to get off, and probably stalkers looking to find a 'date' online," offers one veteran Adult Webmaster. Adds another "A lot of the perverts who run these sites are just like the perverts who surf them and sign up for memberships. This is their sick way to reassure each other that it's OK to lust after underage girls. For some crazy reason, the law says it's OK to run sites likes these even though we all know why they really exist."
With teen and amateur websites arguably being two of the hottest and best selling niches on the market, it is no wonder that underage teen model websites and clubs are getting a lot of traffic. Webmasters like Gary Smith realized this early on, enabling him to leave his regular job in web design and programming in Arkansas (and his divorced wife) to pursue photography full time in Chicago, and no doubt meet the kind of women that would not pay any attention to him under different circumstances.
Trouble has found him though in both of his lifestyles.
Representatives for various teen models and Smith himself would not return emails for this story.
Source:   (http://www.ynotmasters.com/news/ynews/arch/110801/page14.html)
 
Undercover Investigations Examines 'Selling Innocence'
CHICAGO, Nov. 7, 2001 - Young girls hoping to become rich and famous in the world of modeling have found themselves working with a convicted felon. In Wednesday's special report "Selling Innocence", our Unit 5 investigative team goes undercover to expose a Chicago area modeling studio whose owner is now the subject a national criminal probe. Some of these girls have ended up in the new booming world of child erotica, where they put themselves in the public spotlight by posing for almost nude photo's, allegedly with parental permission.
Those behind the industry said it is all perfectly legal, but what we uncovered has led to a police raid and a criminal investigation. The Unit 5 investigative team exposed allegations of child exploitation, pornography and sexual abuse against Gary Smith, a self proclaimed high roller in the teen modeling industry. On the surface, his photo business appears completely legitimate, but we found there's an underside.
From kids posing on busy Chicago streets to more revealing shots taken at a secret photo studio, Smith is cashing in big. Smith is part of the booming Internet industry of child erotica. He sells their pictures and videos on his website, where prosecutors said he is selling to a select market that includes pedophiles. "I think it's obscene," said Dan Stewart, prosecutor for Sebastian County, Ark. "You're dealing with individuals who are preying upon children."
A 14-year-old model said she made a thousand dollars in her first week and told us she doesn't want to think about who is paying to see her pose. "It?s just something you don't think about because that just ruins your fun," said Adrienne. Unit 5 went undercover into a Halloween party staged by Smith. At the party, he allowed website customers to meet 16, 15, even 14-year-old girls in person.
We also revealed his photo studio at a northside Chicago home. It is an operation with annual revenues in the millions according to police sources, who are now investigating Smith after what we uncovered. Gary Smith is also a convicted child molester.
We've learned a nationwide criminal investigation is underway and the secrets behind Gary smith's operation are about to unfold.
-------------INTERNET WORLD OF CHILD EROTICA---------------
How could a convicted child molester open a child-modeling studio in a Chicago neighborhood? It is a question for both local and federal authorities, who are on the trail of the man behind the operation, Gary Smith. Smith is a 35-year-old computer specialist who's wanted by police in Ark. He was convicted in 1998 of sexually assaulting a man's 15-year old daughter.
"He had her pinned against the side of the car, trying to take her clothes off and kissing on her," said Bill Lincks, the father of the sexually assaulted teen. Smith was ordered to get counseling in an agreement to avoid prison. "I have gone through several counseling sessions ? about a dozen," said Smith. But prosecutors in Arkansas said he?s in violation of his sentencing agreement and could get ten years in prison.
They're also stunned to learn what we found out about Smith's business. A Unit 5 surveillance video shows young girls going to his home where he takes their pictures. They even meet him at hotel rooms. Smith said parents approve of what he's doing.
And Unit 5 found he even sells tickets to website customers, who can meet the girls in person and take custom photos at parties. Authorities believe many of the photos are crossing the line. "I believe this violates the Ark. statue of child pornography," said Ark. prosecutor Dan Stewart.
He issued a new warrant for Smith's arrest. "I think that it's absolutely horrible and something needs to be done about it," Stewart said. Something is being done. We've learned Smith is the subject of an FBI investigation. "I?ve been under investigation by the FBI for four or five months now," said Smith.
Law enforcement sources close to the Smith case told Unit 5, the FBI has information about a 12-year-old girl who Smith allegedly forced to pose nude in a Missouri hotel room earlier this year. The pictures are part of an alleged secret collection called the "Golden Pictures". "It makes me sick to my stomach that someone like Gary Smith is still preying and profiting from something that?s as serious as he's doing," said Bill Lincks.
Smith wants to send a message to police and FBI agents investigating him. He said everything he does is perfectly legal. Five days after a Unit 5 interview with Smith, the Cook County sheriff's police raided Gary?s home.
Police said there were $200,000 worth of computer equipment inside and they seized it, along with thousands of computer discs and videos. Police even found spotlights over some of the beds and drugs in one of the rooms.
Smith was arrested on his Ark. warrant and sent to the Cook County jail. As for his arrest on the violation of his plea agreement, Smith posted bond and is free until the governor signs a warrant to send him back to Ark. That could take up to 90 days.
The Cook County sheriff's police are examining all of his files they confiscated and said "their investigation into Mr. Smith and his business activities is continuing and expanding in scope." Smith denied the drugs found in the house are his.
We've also learned five people have been arrested on pornography charges stemming from other teen modeling websites. According to U.S. Dept. of Justice sources, three people were indicted in Missouri, including the parents of a girl who we've learned once appeared on Smith?s website.
Federal officials said their investigation is continuing. The money is so big, parents are setting up websites like Smith's all over the country, selling images of their own kids on line.
In the days and weeks to come, we'll have the results of a joint investigation we conducted with the investigative team from our sister station in Miami.
 
 
Source:  (http://www.nbc5.com/unit5investigates/1189648/detail.html)