With so many child modeling agencies around the world, you can't help but find yourself wondering what becomes of the children that were photographed and how they're affected by what happened to them. We were lucky enough to get the opportunity to interview a former child model from TeenModeling.TV and to have her reflect on her experience and provide an insight into what went on and how it still affects her today.
OpExposure: On how many occasions (approximately), did you pose as a model during photography sessions with Rodney Kress?
Former Model: From what I can recall, I worked approximately one 40 hour week with Rodney.
OpExposure: How did Rodney describe the intentions behind producing these images?
Former Model: Rodney explained that he had vast network of professional contacts, including talent/modeling agents and other people who are able to launch young models’ careers. He said that these people pay him a lot of money to provide them with new talent. He said that he could not guarantee fame, but he felt that I had a lot of potential and that modeling for him would open a lot of doors.
OpExposure: Did Rodney ever make it clear that the images being produced were being sold on the internet to members of the public?
Former Model: No. He said that the photos were sold only to professional, legitimate professionals in the modeling world. He vaguely explained that only a few sample photos would be available online and that he ensured full access was only sold to these business-minded professionals.
OpExposure: During the photography sessions did Rodney ever ask you to pose inappropriately or ask you to do things that made you feel uncomfortable?
Former Model: Yes. The first couple of days were markedly more comfortable for me as a young teenager. The environment was light and I was given a lot of freedom to wear outfits that I liked and pose in ways I felt comfortable. It was fun at first. Then, he and a partner became more insistent that I needed to dress for certain themes. Pajamas, formal dresses, mature Halloween-like costumes, and other overtly sexualized outfits. The poses also become more “adult-like” as he called it. He explained that if I wanted to seem like a versatile young model, I would need to prove that I could look older. I felt strange about this, but by that time, he had gained my trust. I felt that I couldn’t back out, after he had put so much time into working with me. After those last few days, I remember feeling very uncomfortable and like I had done something wrong. But as a naïve young person, I was entirely unaware of the ill-intentions of the people who were granted easy access to these images.
OpExposure: Can you tell us about the types of clothing you were made to pose in?
Former Model: Some of the outfits were age-appropriate as a young teenager; sandals, jeans, tank-tops, and colorful jewelry. These photos did not appear as frequently on the website. Rodney preferred to publish the photos that were taken in string bikinis, skimpy pajamas, and other revealing dresses. Again, he insisted that versatility was important and insisted that I wear props like wigs, angel wings, fishnet stockings, tall heels, and similar items that I retrospectively recognize as objects of some sexual fetishes.
OpExposure: Based upon your dealings with Rodney Kress, did you ever get the impression that he possibly has a sexual interest in prepubescent and teenage girls, or is it that he's purely motivated by unscrupulous greed?
Former Model: I cannot say with any certainty that he himself has pedophilic tendencies, but he did seem to enjoy taking the photos. He played loud music and was often smiling and laughing. I feel that he was amused by my discomfort as the outfits and poses became more provocative. He is likely motivated by greed above all else.
OpExposure: Are you aware that there are networks of pedophiles actively operating on the internet trading and exchanging these types of images of underage girls?
Former Model: Yes, I am aware of this. The work of OpExposure has made this reality much clearer to me.
OpExposure: In hindsight how do you feel about what happened to you during this period of your life?
Former Model: I am deeply saddened and ashamed about my participation on Rodney Kress’ website. I feel that my innocence, naiveté, and hopes for a future of financial stability were exploited. I suffer from anxiety as a result of my time spent with Rodney and from knowing that my photos have been seen by countless pedophiles. I also feel some guilt for having inadvertently contributed to the musings of pedophiles who were/are possibly hurting young children in real life. I am also profoundly angry that Rodney Kress and people like him make such riches by catering to pedophiles using non-nude photos that are technically legal. I struggle with this anger ten years later, which is why I am happy to contribute to the mission of OpExposure.
OpExposure: What would you say to any girls that might be considering posing for Rodneys website "TeenModeling.TV"?
Former Model: Don’t. Period. Aside for the moral issue of contributing to pedophilia, you alone will need to personally live with the image of strangers, secretly purchasing images of you and your body to cater to their own sick obsessions with young, pre-pubescent girls. Consider the possibility that these individuals may then become inspired to hurt young girls in real life. Don’t pose for people like Rodney Kress because he will profit immensely off of you and you will receive next to nothing. There are no positive outcomes to posing for TeenModeling.TV for anyone other than Rodney Kress, his associated, and the pedophiles who purchase your photos.
OpExposure: If you could say anything to Rodney Kress and other people like him doing this to children, what would you say?
Former Model: It is a miscarriage of justice that you are not in jail. You are no better than then people who purchase your photos or those who sexually exploit children while not sitting in front of their computer. Rodney, you are a father. Imagine how you would feel if men were looking at your daughter the way that your clientele look at the young children that you exploit on your website.
OpExposure: We would like to thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.
Saturday 3 August 2013
Saturday 6 July 2013
Gegg Agency
Thomas Schwing of Leipzig, Germany operated the child modeling agency known as "Gegg Agency." Schwing would exploit prepubescent girls from the neighboring Czech Republic by featuring them on his website, up until Schwing was eventually raided and arrested by Czech police in 2005. Schwing's agency experienced notable popularity amongst the pedophiles which collected the sets produced by it.
Saturday 29 June 2013
Reb's "Fine Arts" Galleries
Donald Raymond Croft II AKA Donald Croft II, Donald R Croft, Rebel Shooter, Reb operated a child modelling agency known as "Reb's Fine Arts Galleries" from his home in Livonia, Michigan up until he was arrested in 2012 on child pornography charges stemming from some of the images he'd produced.
"Croft stated that he did produce child pornography. He stated he believed the photographs he captured were art. Croft was asked why girls, under 18 years, were featured on his website wearing provocative clothing. He stated he did not feel clothing could be provocative. Croft was informed PayPal filed a complaint against him for selling soiled clothing worn by underage girls. He stated the clothing was not soiled and he did try and sell the used clothing worn by all his models; under or over 18 years of age;"Following Crofts arrest, Susan Johnston Clinton of Virginia Beach, Virginia was arrested and charged in connection to Crofts website, for aiding in the production of child pornography.
After viewing several of the photos - some of which showed the girl nude except for body paint or wearing fishnet stockings and corsets - Clinton said they should not have been posted on the Internet. She said photos depicting nudity should have been deleted.
During the same interview, however, Clinton said she was "OK" with Croft taking the photos, documents said. She described some of the outfits the girl wore as "age inappropriate" but said she did not have a problem with them.
She said she thought the photographs were used for advertising, maybe for Halloween costumes. She said Croft told her the photos were not child pornography and that he was going to make a book with "art" photos.
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| Susan Johnston Clinton |
Wednesday 26 June 2013
"CD-ROMs featuring some of the cutest girls-next-door"
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| Steve Stewart |
"We produce photo CD-ROMs featuring some of the cutest girls-next-door in Southern Calif. Each of these girls are part-time models looking for a break in the industry, or perhaps just an interesting part time job in modeling. You see them modeling school clothes, party clothes and casual wear and bathing suits"
Friday 14 June 2013
The Little Agency that couldn't
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During the period between 2003 - 2006, Matthew Duhamel of Charles Granere of Salt Lake City, Utah, formed and operated a number of child modeling agencies, until they were eventually brought to justice.
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| Billy Capps |
From 2003-2004, Duhamel and Granere operated a child modeling agency known as "A Model Shop." It's believed that Duhamel was the webmaster for the website, while Granere was his technical asistant. A Model Shop was however discontinued, when one of the photographers, Billy Capps of North Carolina, was arrested and convicted for child sexual exploitation. Capps was sentenced to 6 years in prison and 10 years probation.
Duhamel and Granere didn't let the arrest and conviction of one of their photographers dissuade them and they went back into business, starting a new child modeling agency known as "Flower Studios." This agency fared even worse than the first, within only a number of months another one of their photographers, this time Sheila Sellinger of Shoals, Indiana was facing criminal charges (which she was eventually convicted of) for distributing sexually explicit material involving minors. Sellinger was sentenced to 140 months in prison and a lifetime supervision after release. As per previous, Duhamel and Granere decided it would be best to shut down Flower Studios too.
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| Sheila Sellinger |
However, later that year, Duhamel and Granere created a new child modeling agency known as "A Little Agency." Granere also established another agency entirely separate of "A Little Agency," called "Radiant Studios" (which he would later rename to be "Virtual Model Studios").
This was the state of the situation when they were busted: with Duhamel and Granere co-operating "A Little Agency" and Granere operating his side-project of "Virtual Model Studios"
"Federal agents call the child pornography industry a multiheaded monster. Lop the head off of one site, and another springs up somewhere else.
Money, officials say, and the dark appetites of countless faceless customers is what fuels this industry.
"This industry is a huge, huge moneymaking industry," said special agent-in-charge for the FBI Salt Lake City office, Bob Wright. "It's making money through the exploitation of individuals."
If there wasn't such a high demand, such sites would not keep popping up, Wright said. "It's the sheer monetary benefit of it, which is a sad commentary on society," he said.
Take the recent arrest of a Utah television personality and his Orem business partner who were both charged last week with operating Web sites in which people paid to download photos of 9- and 10-year-old girls dressed in scant clothing.
Federal prosecutors said this week that Matthew John Duhamel, 32, also known as Matt McCoy when he briefly worked as a weather forecaster for KUTV Channel 2, and Charles Phillip Granere, 26, made significant money operating such sites.
According to court documents, Duhamel netted tens of thousands of dollars in less than three months for posting provocative pictures taken by the parents of a 10-year-old girl. The documents show that the mother, who along with her husband were criminally charged in another state, told FBI agents that she was given a check for $17,000 from Duhamel for three months' worth of proceeds from her daughter's racy pictures.
A statement sent to the girl's parents by Duhamel in February 2005 indicated that Duhamel's site "flowerstudios," which has now been shut down, received more than $2,000 in memberships in a single week from a link to their daughter's photo site.
Prosecutors claim Duhamel, who had recently worked as a late-night talk show host on KPNZ Channel 24, had about "six figures" in his bank account when he was arrested.
However, the arrest and charge of the two parents last year sent shock waves through the Internet underground. Messages posted on a discussion board at a preteen modeling Web site "memorialized" the loss of the 10-year-old's "career" due to the arrest. "(She) was one of the fastest rising new models in the industry due to her very liberal outfits and poses and was a major threat to all competitors," the site states.
News of the arrests caused many "models" to "retire" from their careers and several Web sites to dry up. However, paying customers were offered refunds and warned that if they paid by credit card, to expect to be contacted by law enforcement.
A Little Agency
One posting offered to transfer paid accounts from "flowerstudios" to other Web sites offering similar photos of barely dressed children.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells on Tuesday ordered Duhamel released from custody under federal supervision pending the outcome of the charges. During a follow-up hearing Wednesday, Wells also ordered Granere released. Both men have been ordered to have no access to the Internet or unsupervised contact with anyone younger than 18 years.
Federal officials said they could not comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing."
Thursday 6 June 2013
"Our business model is quite simple."
Our business model is quite simple. We sell memberships to access digital photography of young, beautiful models. We keep costs associated with development low and attempt to sell as many memberships as possible via proven web marketing techniques. The number of memberships that can be sold is virtually unlimited so the profit potential is great. Our customer base is the entire Internet-enabled population.
- Models Elite
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| Robert Ash |
Like many of these types of so-called child modeling websites, Ash operated a forum to promote his agency. At a glance through some of the topics listed, it appears he used to facilitate live "webcam" shows involving children featured on his website and his venom and animosity towards societies contempt for people like him which sexually exploit children in this manner is also apparent:
Friday 31 May 2013
MSP-digital.net
MSP-digital.net was a child modeling agency operated out of Germany, by an individual known as Marco-Siegfried Penthin, of Cologne, Germany. The agencies name appears to be derived from the initials of Penthin's own name and his website featured images of girls aged from 8-15 years-old available for sale to pedophiles.
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| Marco-Siegfried Penthin |
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