DATE: Saturday, October 4, 1997             TAG: 9710040352

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  195 lines

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.

A WARNING

``This should give parents something to think about in terms of

who's watching their children,'' said the father of a 12-year-old

Virginia Beach girl who was one of Bron's victims. ``This is a real

thing that could happen to anyone.''

Graphic

Rules for online safety for children

1. Never allow children (including teen-agers) to have

unsupervised access to the Internet. Keep the computer in a public

area, never in a child's bedroom. Make it a habit to periodically,

and without warning, observe what they are doing on the Internet.

2. Make Internet use a group or family activity in which all

members can participate.

3. Learn the services provided by your Internet service

provider (ISP) or online service so that you know how it works.

Determine whether the system allows you to block your child from

accessing certain areas, such as chat rooms, and take advantage of

those services.

4. Instruct children that whenever they communicate online, they

should never give out identifying information such as phone numbers,

addresses, last names, Social Security numbers or names of schools

that they attend.

5. Remind children that whatever they are told online may or may

not be true. A person who states that she is a 12-year-old girl may

in fact be a 50-year-old man.

6. Never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are

suggestive, obscene, belligerent or harassing.

7. Children should never upload pictures of themselves to people

that they do not personally know. They could be uploading it to a

pedophile.

8. Instruct your child never to arrange a face-to-face meeting

with someone they have met on the Internet.

9. Children should never download pictures from an unknown source

as there is a good chance it is pornography.

10. Monitor the times of day that a child accesses the Internet

or online service, and the duration of his or her online session.

Excessive time online, especially during evening or late night

hours, may be indicative of a problem.

11. If you become suspicious that your child is misusing the

computer, discuss your concerns with the child and, if warranted,

consider examining the hard drive for inappropriate material.

12. Do not make the mistake of using the computer as a baby

sitter.

Source: FBI KEYWORDS: INTERNET CHILD PORNOGRAPHY ARREST SENTENCING

PEDOPHILE

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