New York Times article about a boy doing illegal webcam shows (Article, Link)

[Young]

December 19, 2005
Through His Webcam, a Boy Joins a Sordid Online World
By KURT EICHENWALD

The 13-year-old boy sat in his California home, eyes fixed on a computer screen. He had never run with the popular crowd and long ago had turned to the Internet for the friends he craved. But on this day, Justin Berry's fascination with cyberspace would change his life.

Weeks before, Justin had hooked up a Web camera to his computer, hoping to use it to meet other teenagers online. Instead, he heard only from men who chatted with him by instant message as they watched his image on the Internet. To Justin, they seemed just like friends, ready with compliments and always offering gifts.

Now, on an afternoon in 2000, one member of his audience sent a proposal: he would pay Justin $50 to sit bare-chested in front of his Webcam for three minutes. The man explained that Justin could receive the money instantly and helped him open an account on PayPal.com, an online payment system.

"I figured, I took off my shirt at the pool for nothing," he said recently. "So, I was kind of like, what's the difference?"

Justin removed his T-shirt. The men watching him oozed compliments.

So began the secret life of a teenager who was lured into selling images of his body on the Internet over the course of five years. From the seduction that began that day, this soccer-playing honor roll student was drawn into performing in front of the Webcam - undressing, showering, masturbating and even having sex - for an audience of more than 1,500 people who paid him, over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Justin's dark coming-of-age story is a collateral effect of recent technological advances. Minors, often under the online tutelage of adults, are opening for-pay pornography sites featuring their own images sent onto the Internet by inexpensive Webcams. And they perform from the privacy of home, while parents are nearby, beyond their children's closed bedroom doors.

The business has created youthful Internet pornography stars - with nicknames like Riotboyy, Miss Honey and Gigglez - whose images are traded online long after their sites have vanished. In this world, adolescents announce schedules of their next masturbation for customers who pay fees for the performance or monthly subscription charges. Eager customers can even buy "private shows," in which teenagers sexually perform while following real-time instructions.

A six-month investigation by The New York Times into this corner of the Internet found that such sites had emerged largely without attracting the attention of law enforcement or youth protection organizations. While experts with these groups said they had witnessed a recent deluge of illicit, self-generated Webcam images, they had not known of the evolution of sites where minors sold images of themselves for money.

"We've been aware of the use of the Webcam and its potential use by exploiters," said Ernest E. Allen, chief executive of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a private group. "But this is a variation on a theme that we haven't seen. It's unbelievable."

Minors who run these sites find their anonymity amusing, joking that their customers may be the only adults who know of their activities. It is, in the words of one teenage site operator, the "Webcam Matrix," a reference to the movie in which a computerized world exists without the knowledge of most of humanity.

In this virtual universe, adults hunt for minors on legitimate sites used by Webcam owners who post contact information in hopes of attracting friends. If children respond to messages, adults spend time "grooming" them - with praise, attention and gifts - before seeking to persuade them to film themselves pornographically.

The lure is the prospect of easy money. Many teenagers solicit "donations," request gifts through sites like Amazon.com or negotiate payments, while a smaller number charge monthly fees. But there are other beneficiaries, including businesses, some witting and some unwitting, that provide services to the sites like Web hosting and payment processing.

Not all victims profit, with some children ending up as pornographic commodities inadvertently, even unknowingly. Adolescents have appeared naked on their Webcams as a joke, or as presents for boyfriends or girlfriends, only to have their images posted on for-pay pornography sites. One Web site proclaims that it features 140,000 images of "adolescents in cute panties exposing themselves on their teen Webcams."

Entry into this side of cyberspace is simplicity itself. Webcams cost as little as $20, and the number of them being used has mushroomed to 15 million, according to IDC, an industry consulting group. At the same time, instant messaging programs have become ubiquitous, and high-speed connections, allowing for rapid image transmission, are common.

The scale of Webcam child pornography is unknown, because it is new and extremely secretive. One online portal that advertises for-pay Webcam sites, many of them pornographic, lists at least 585 sites created by teenagers, internal site records show. At one computer bulletin board for adults attracted to adolescents, a review of postings over the course of a week revealed Webcam image postings of at least 98 minors.

The Times inquiry has already resulted in a large-scale criminal investigation. In June, The Times located Justin Berry, then 18. In interviews, Justin revealed the existence of a group of more than 1,500 men who paid for his online images, as well as evidence that other identifiable children as young as 13 were being actively exploited.

In a series of meetings, The Times persuaded Justin to abandon his business and, to protect other children at risk, assisted him in contacting the Justice Department. Arrests and indictments of adults he identified as pornography producers and traffickers began in September. Investigators are also focusing on businesses, including credit card processors that have aided illegal sites. Anyone who has created, distributed, marketed, possessed or paid to view such pornography is open to a criminal charge.

"The fact that we are getting so many potential targets, people who knowingly bought into a child pornographic Web site, could lead to hundreds of other subjects and potentially save hundreds of other kids that we are not aware of yet," said Monique Winkis, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who is working the case.

Law enforcement officials also said that, with the cooperation of Justin, they had obtained a rare guide into this secluded online world whose story illuminates the exploitation that takes place there.

"I didn't want these people to hurt any more kids," Justin said recently of his decision to become a federal witness. "I didn't want anyone else to live the life I lived."

A High-Tech Transformation

Not long ago, the distribution of child pornography in America was a smallish trade, relegated to back rooms and corners where even the proprietors of X-rated bookstores refused to loiter.

By the mid-1980's, however, technology had transformed the business, with pedophiles going online to communicate anonymously and post images through rudimentary bulletin board systems. As Internet use boomed in the 1990's, these adults honed their computer skills, finding advanced ways to meet online and swap illegal photos; images once hard to obtain were suddenly available with the click of a mouse.

As the decade drew to a close, according to experts and records of online conversations, these adults began openly fantasizing of the day they would be able to reach out to children directly, through instant messaging and live video, to obtain the pornography they desired.

Their dream was realized with the Web camera, which transformed online pornography the way the automobile changed transportation. At first, the cameras, some priced at more than $100, offered little more than grainy snapshots, "refreshed" a few times per minute. But it was not long before easy-to-use $20 Webcams could transmit high-quality continuous color video across the globe instantly.

By 2000, things had worked out exactly the way the pedophiles hoped. Webcams were the rage among computer-savvy minors, creating a bountiful selection of potential targets.

Among them was Justin Berry. That year, he was a gangly 13-year-old with saucer eyes and brown hair that he often dyed blond. He lived with his mother, stepfather and younger sister in Bakersfield, Calif., a midsize city about 90 miles north of Los Angeles. Already he was so adept at the computer that he had registered his own small Web site development business, which he ran from the desk where he did his schoolwork.

So Justin was fascinated when a friend showed off the free Webcam he had received for joining Earthlink, an Internet service provider. The device was simple and elegant. As Justin remembers it, he quickly signed up, too, eager for his own Webcam.

"I didn't really have a lot of friends," he recalled, "and I thought having a Webcam might help me make some new ones online, maybe even meet some girls my age."

If you guys are interested in the rest...check out the link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/19/na...00&partner=AOL

[pornguy]

And of course non of this is the parents fault. this is all the fault of online pornography.

Wow... it's scary what can happen while parents are just 20 feet away in another room.

[Young]

http://www.nakedwebcamteens.com

they are talking about you in the article.....so good luck. might have a knock on your door.

[European Lee]

Originally Posted by pornguy

And of course non of this is the parents fault. this is all the fault of online pornography.

Did yu even read the damn thing? The kids father was helping him with this, of course its the parents fault LOL

Regards,

Lee

[brizzad]

a few hundreds of thousands of dollars? if only i wasnt legal anymore

[ready lube]

I didnt read the entire article just cause It didnt hold my interest, but I thougt it's kinda funny that the 13 year old kids first and last name is published...isn't that illegal?

[Bluewire Ross]

It is happening...it's a reality....no one can stop it right away...internet is a place for infinite possibilities.

[Steen2]

Interesting. Not surprised but I've never heard of this before. Almost entrepreneurial.

[Young]

Originally Posted by ready lube

I didnt read the entire article just cause It didnt hold my interest, but I thougt it's kinda funny that the 13 year old kids first and last name is published...isn't that illegal?

he's 18 now. its an interesting read after the first page. this kid was swimming in money.

[Steen2]

Originally Posted by Young

http://www.nakedwebcamteens.com

they are talking about you in the article.....so good luck. might have a knock on your door.

Am I an idiot to wonder how/why CCBill approved them?

[Young]

As his obsession with the business grew, Justin became a ferocious competitor. When another under-age site operator called Strider ranked higher on a popular portal, Justin sent him anonymous e-mail messages, threatening to pass along images from Strider's site to the boy's father. The site disappeared.

This kid didn't fuck around.

[Spunky]

Nothing really surprises me anymore..Kids are so computer savvy nowadays..They know a good thing when they see it..morally wrong but obviously his parents weren't in the picture very much

[Young]

Originally Posted by Spunky

Nothing really surprises me anymore..Kids are so computer savvy nowadays..They know a good thing when they see it..morally wrong but obviously his parents weren't in the picture very much

Nope....Pops wasn't in the picture....he was actually probaly just to the right of the picture don't want to get in the way of the lens ya know...my piss of their customers.

"Despairing, Justin turned to his online fans. "My dad left. I guess he doesn't love me," he wrote. "Why did I let him back in my life? Let me die, just let me die."

His father did not disappear for long. Soon, Mr. Berry called his son from Mazatlán, Mexico; Justin begged to join him, and his father agreed.

In Mexico, Justin freely spent his cash, leading his father to ask where the money had come from. Justin said that he confessed the details of his lucrative Webcam business, and that the reunion soon became a collaboration. Justin created a new Web site, calling it mexicofriends, his most ambitious ever. It featured Justin having live sex with prostitutes. "

[Aquarius]

yeah read it too, makes you wonder how many children are in this kind of shit, this is just one. Sad thing.

[NoWhErE]

The world is so jaded nowadays

[je_rome]

and now every parent would wonder what their son could be doing all day long in the room with the computer. the good thing they find about cybersex is that it is safe, no touching and meeting at all.

[nofx]

So began the secret life of a teenager who was lured into selling images of his body on the Internet over the course of five years. From the seduction that began that day, this soccer-playing honor roll student was drawn into performing in front of the Webcam - undressing, showering, masturbating and even having sex - for an audience of more than 1,500 people who paid him, over the years, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

holy shit

[Marshal]

Originally Posted by pornguy

And of course non of this is the parents fault. this is all the fault of online pornography.

i totally agree with you!

[Violetta]

did he get millions of dollars from porn throug paypal? lol

[Love Sex]

Thats fucked up and i feel bad for that kid. I hope all those guys rot away in a cell.

[MikeSmoke]

such sites had emerged largely without attracting the attention of law enforcement or youth protection organizations

but of course, they would never add "or legal and reputable adult internet operators and companies, who have no part in any of these activities."

[Dynamix]

Originally Posted by MikeSmoke

but of course, they would never add "or legal and reputable adult internet operators and companies, who have no part in any of these activities."

a phrase like that would never be used in an article on the adult industry.. we're the dirt of the earth, and that stereotype will never change in the public's eye

[dbavaria]

damn where can i sign up? I mean for a site like this of my own...I spend plenty of time naked and masterbating - who knew there was money in it!

- smart kid.

[DutchTeenCash]

Originally Posted by pornguy

And of course non of this is the parents fault. this is all the fault of online pornography.

yeah like a sensible parent wouldnt notice

[adultchica]

Yeah if his dad was helping him do this, his father is twisted and SICK

[Tricksy]

It's horrible what kids can do being so close to their parents. At least he made some money :-)

[reynold]

that is not a new issue about teens doing webcam shows. Just logon to your YM and you will find lots of webcam shows and you'll be suprised to know the ages of those kids doing it. they even are into sex eyeball and orgys just to earn a couple of $.

[lyn1]

Would this guy have turned in his pedo customers if he realised he would have to hand-over his ill-gotten gains....I don't think so. The only winner is the journo who conned a good story out of the guy.

Shit happens.

Lyn

[CamRabbit]

Originally Posted by pornguy

And of course non of this is the parents fault. this is all the fault of online pornography.

How can parents supervise the kid if they are both working an 8-5 job to make ends meet?

Do you know how kids are nowadays? I bet most parents dont even know how to turn on a PC.

[wyldblyss]

Are these parents stupid? Your 13 year old does't work and all of a sudden has a ton of money, and gifts arriving my mail. Why are the parents not asking questions?

[Young]

bump for the late crowd