Dmitry Bron
freddy
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DATE: Saturday, October 4, 1997 TAG: 9710040352
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 195 lines
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BEACH CHILD-PORN KING SENTENCED IMAGES OF BEACH GIRL WERE PUT ON
INTERNET.
A judge on Friday sentenced the organizer of one of the nation's
largest sites for Internet child pornography to 27 1/2 years in prison
during an emotional hearing attended by a 12-year-old victim of the
pornographer.
Dmitry Bron, 29, ran an international Internet site in Virginia Beach
that offered some 15,000 images of graphic child pornography,
including photos of infants and toddlers being raped and grade-school
children engaging in sexual encounters. The site was accessed by
people in the United States and at least a dozen foreign countries.
Though a major trafficker, Bron's conviction was for producing his own
child pornography, which involved a young Virginia Beach girl he
molested for years, federal authorities say. Bron videotaped the
encounters and posted the images to be accessed and distributed by
other Internet users.
``This should give parents something to think about in terms of who's
watching their children,'' said the girl's father. ``This is a real
thing that could happen to anyone.''
The girl's mother warned that those who seem the safest may be the
most dangerous. ``Someone doing this may not look like a scumbag,''
she said. ``It could be family, or your closest friend. The closer
they are, the more susceptible you are.''
Bron's child-porn collection was one of the best-known and sought-
after on the Internet, evidence in federal court showed. A self-
confessed pedophile, Bron, owner of a Virginia Beach computer
business, made no profits off the images and was driven solely by his
``obsessions'' with children, he said Friday.
U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson imposed a sentence that
exceeded the usual sentencing guidelines, calling the molestation of
the child and the distribution of her images an act of ``cruelness.''
``You perpetrated this on a little girl over and over again for
years,'' Jackson said of the 12-year-old Virginia Beach girl, who sat
in court during the hearing. ``This was not isolated. This was an
abusive relationship, and its impact is global in nature. The images
gathered were made available around the world to those involved in
child pornography and they cannot be retrieved.''
Federal prosecutor Jan Reincke argued that the child's humiliation
will last into adulthood because her images - which she has no power
to remove from cyberspace - will continue to be shown on the
Internet.
``It's bad enough what he did to the victim,'' Reincke said, ``but to
give others access on the Internet is an additional humiliation. Who
knows where they are, or who has them?''
Bron, a Russian immigrant, took the stand at the end of the daylong
hearing to explain his collection, comparing it to ``trading baseball
cards.'' He admitted he was sick and had an obsession, particularly
with the local child victim.
``I cared about her,'' Bron said. ``I didn't want to hurt her.'' Bron
admitted to his sister that he could not help himself, and if he were
released, he would drive by the girl's house just to look at her.
Though many of the images in his collection contain graphic sexual
encounters and assaults on children, Bron's activities involving the
Beach girl apparently did not include rape.
While baby-sitting the girl, who is the child of an acquaintance of
Bron's, he took nude pictures and videotapes of sexual encounters.
Bron was charged only with the production of child pornography, not
trafficking. But prosecutors argued that the scope of the trafficking
and the size of his pornography collection should merit a sentence in
excess of the guidelines.
Bron, president of Micromax Computers on Independence Blvd., was in a
federal halfway house on unrelated charges when he was arrested in a
sting originating in Oklahoma City in June 1996.
That investigation was organized by ``Innocent Images,'' an FBI task
force aimed at halting the trafficking of child pornography on the
Internet. The FBI lured Bron into sending child pornography to
Oklahoma City as they watched.
The parents of the Virginia Beach girl said in an interview that their
daughter told them of the molestation after Bron was arrested. The
parents said Bron had threatened to kill her father if she told, but
the girl felt it was safe to talk after his arrest.
The parents confiscated Bron's computers and a safe from his office.
They had a locksmith open the safe, where they found videotapes of
their child. They turned them over to authorities.
``It devastated the life of our daughter,'' the mother said. ``The
impact will go on for the rest of her life. It will never end.''
The family is not being identified because the girl was a victim of
sexual abuse. But the parents agreed to talk because they hope that
other parents can avoid similar traumas.
The FBI's ``Innocent Images'' undercover operation was launched in May
1993. The local case and others show how the Internet and fast modems
capable of downloading complicated photographic and videographic
images have become a powerful tool in the hands of pedophiles. And
online chat rooms have become an international meeting place and a way
to lure children into sexually illicit conversations.
Pedophiles swap stories, images and video clips, disguising their
identities with code names. At least 150 people have been convicted
nationwide for trafficking in child pornography in the FBI operation.
To avoid detection, Bron, using the code name ``Nanny 69,'' had opened
an Internet account under someone else's name.
Bron then operated an FTP site - or file-transfer protocol site -
where authorized users can log in using their modem, view selected
photographs and directories, then download specialized theme photos.
He would send samples out to chat rooms to see if there was an
interest. One chat went like this:
Chatter: You've got the best movies. . . . Have heard about the legend
Nanny 69. Never thought I'd meet you. . . . I feel like I'm talking
with a celebrity.
Another chat, with another child pornographer called ``Wonder 7,''
went like this:
Wonder 7: You and I are the most well-known people on the Net.
Nanny 69: Am I? I don't want to be. It's too dangerous.
Wonder 7: It's about time we got together. (We have a group) with 40
members, all top collectors. . . . Your movies are well-thought-of.
Everyone thinks they're great quality. You should be proud.
Bron provided letters guiding fellow users through his collection and
pointing them toward their specific perversions.
Bron's case is unusual not only for the size of the collection, but
also because he produced the pornography he distributed. Producers of
Internet porn are difficult to trace, the FBI said.
The images in Bron's collection originated in the United States,
Canada, Asia, Amsterdam and Europe, the FBI said.
Users accessed the site from Italy, England, Norway, Australia,
Austria, Germany, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Canada and the United
States.
Bron became visibly agitated throughout Friday's hearing, especially
when he perceived technical testimony to be inaccurate or when he was
portrayed in a bad light.
At one point, he tried to fire his attorney, Andrew Sacks, and take
over his own defense. Another emotional point came when Sacks prepared
to view one of the locally produced videos. By law, the defendant had
to be allowed to view the tape as well.
``It would be like giving crack to a crack addict,'' one agent snapped
as prosecutors prepared to argue against Bron's being allowed to view
the tape. At the last minute, Bron waived his right to watch the
tape.
Alex Chester, Bron's former in-law, described Bron as a chameleon
whose personality could change rapidly. ``He can be your best friend,
then your worst enemy,'' he said. ``Still, I was shocked when he was
arrested. I knew he could do all kinds of stuff, but not this.''
Throughout the day, the victim was shielded from Bron's view by her
mother as Bron frequently turned to scan the courtroom behind him.
ILLUSTRATION: Color drawing by Alba Bragoli
Dmitry Brown
Graphic
WHAT HE DID
Dmitry Bron, left, of Virginia Beach was sentenced to 27 1/2
years in prison for producing child pornography involving a Beach
girl now 12 years old. He also ran an Internet site with one of the
largest collections of child pornography in the nation and sent
graphic images worldwide.