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.

Criminal Complaint

"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.

Susan Johnston Clinton

"CD-ROMs featuring some of the cutest girls-next-door"

Steve Stewart

Steve Stewart of San Diego, California operated a child modeling agency known as a Stewart Productions. Stewart would sell CD's containing images of under-age girls via the internet to pedophiles.

 "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"

The Little Agency that couldn't

Matthew Duhamel

Charles Granere

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.

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.

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"

Child porn lucrative for 2 Utahns, prosecutors say

"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.

A Little Agency

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.

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."

"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

Robert Ash

Models Elite is a little known child modeling agency, that was operated by Robert Ash of San Francisco, California. While Ash's endeavor into child modeling appears to have been markedly unsuccessful, it hasn't stopped him from being particularly outspoken in defending his right to take photos of underage girls and to sell the images to pedophiles over the internet.

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:

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.

Marco-Siegfried Penthin

"A signal to the community of pornographers you were a part of that this community won't tolerate you"

Leslie Peter Bowcut of Burley, Idaho operated and produced photographs for the child modeling agency known as "Paul Jones Photography." Bowcut operated this child modeling agency up until he was arrested and charged for a number of child sexual abuse related offenses:

Judge hands pedophile 30 years to life
By Shelley Ridenour
Times-News writer

BOWCUT GETS 30 TO LIFE
Peter Bowcut listens to his prison sentence Tuesday in a Burley courtroom before collapsing while leaving the room.

BURLEY Leslie Peter Bowcut collapsed to the floor Tuesday evening after he was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.

Fifth District Judge Roger Burdick sentenced Bowcut on the third day of a sentencing hearing in Cassia County. Burdick ordered Bowcut to the Idaho state prison for a term of 30 years to life. The determinate -- or mandatory -- portion of the sentence is 30 years, and the remainder is indeterminate, Burdick said. Whether Bowcut serves any of the indeterminate sentence will be decided later by corrections department authorities.

Bowcut fell when sheriff's office authorities began leading him out of the courtroom. His parents and other family members rushed to stand in front of newspaper and television photographers, preventing them from photographing the scene.
Sheriff's officers picked Bowcut up, put him in a courtroom chair which had wheels and pushed him out of the courtroom. He did walk out of the courthouse with his sheriff's office escorts a few moments later.

The case for 30 to life

The courtroom was nearly full for the four-hour proceeding Tuesday. Some 62 people were in the audience when Burdick handed down the sentence. Burdick spent nearly an hour in chambers making his decision after all the testimony was presented.

The judge said the "frenzy" surrounding the Bowcut case was unprecedented in the 20-plus years he's sat on the bench.

"I've been at a loss to why," he said, speculating it may be the "newness" of a child molestation case to the community and the nature of the sexual photographs which Bowcut took of the children, which made his abuse so clear.

Yet, Burdick reminded those at the hearing, sentences aren't issued "on the basis of popularity polls or community reaction." The public must see the sentencing process, he said, and "must believe the sentence was justly imposed," or there will be a loss of faith and respect in the court system.

Burdick pointed out to Bowcut that he minimized his conduct "until, frankly, there was no escape." Bowcut repeatedly told investigators, family members, doctors and therapists that the children he abused and photographed were asleep at the time. Evidence has shown that not to be the case. Burdick discounted Bowcut's remarks that there had been no injury to the souls of the victims.

The judge said he's seen thousands of people who were abused as children in his courtroom and they "continually search their tormented souls."

The judge wasn't surprised by the dichotomy Bowcut exhibited. Sex offenders routinely put on the good side as good community members, youth leaders or parents while abusing victims at the same time, Burdick said.

"You lived that dichotomy for a short time," Burdick said to Bowcut. "Thank God you were caught early."

Burdick recognized that Bowcut showed remorse for his crimes. The judge pointed out that Burdick is "working compulsively at rehabilitation" -- as he worked compulsively on the problems which led him into court.

Burdick said he thinks Bowcut is a candidate for treatment, "Although you'll always be attracted to children."

When citing aggravating circumstances, Burdick referred to the underlying profit motive Bowcut had for taking sexual photos of his victims and then selling them on the Internet. His Web site generated between $7,000 and $10,000 a month in profit, according to earlier court testimony.

The other side of Bowcut's photography business seemed to trouble Burdick, too. Bowcut photographed girls, under the guise of clothing models for advertising purposes, and then posted those images online where people who found such photos stimulating could view those non-pornographic images.

"You were truly stalking to the depths of depravity on these unknowing girls," Burdick said.

Even though Bowcut has no criminal history, the judge said the offenses Bowcut was charged with were "enormous" crimes, and his abuse of young victims "mandates a severe sentence."

Burdick said the minimum of 30 years in prison "is a signal to the community of pornographers you were a part of that this community won't tolerate you."

Probation or incarceration?

Cassia County Prosecuting Attorney Al Barrus had recommended to the judge a sentence of life on each count with no parole before Bowcut served 35 years. After the sentencing, Barrus said the judge's sentence was "appropriate."

When recommending a sentence to Burdick, Barrus said "anything less than a long-term prison sentence sends a message his crime wasn't all that serious."

Barrus shared a statement from one of the victims.

The girl said Bowcut "took a picture of my private spot in front," when she was naked.

"He didn't show it to nobody, nobody, nobody, nobody. He's gonna get mad. I just forgot about it. But today I couldn't forget."

Barrus said in all his years of prosecuting, Bowcut's offenses were the "most heinous and atrocious."

When delivering his closing statement, Barrus said all the professionals who met with Bowcut say he's at least at medium risk of reoffending if he completes a treatment program.

But Barrus said, "When it comes to the protection of little children, any risk is unacceptable."

Barrus voiced concern about the incorrect or incomplete information Bowcut shared with therapists and psychologists prior to his evaluations and treatment. Bowcut "appears to tell a different story depending on who's listening," Barrus said.

Barrus continued to dispute Bowcut's claim that the victims were often asleep when he abused them and they didn't know or understand what was going on. Photos clearly show the girls are "awake, aware and horrified."

In addition, Barrus said Bowcut's claim that he didn't use force to get the victims into the settings he photographed them in wasn't pertinent. "The children were compelled by him. Force doesn't have to be present.

"By his own admission he's a pedophile," Barrus said. "He embraced being a pedophile and encouraged others to be a pedophile."

Bowcut's attorney Steven Richert asked the court to "hand down a fair, just sentence."

He reminded Burdick that the doctors and therapists who testified in court all think Bowcut is treatable.

Richert pointed out that since Bowcut was arrested he has sought assistance. "He wants to be helped."

Sending Bowcut to prison for a long time will prevent Bowcut from getting the appropriate treatment because the Idaho prison system doesn't have much in the way of sex offender treatment, Richert said.

Richert referred to the federal charges Bowcut faces and suggested the judge put Bowcut on the state's retained jurisdiction program for 180 days until the federal government conducts court proceedings related to that charge, then the judge could set a penalty for Bowcut. Richert stopped short of asking for no prison time, but he did ask that any jail time "be limited."

Words from Bowcut, his family

When Bowcut went to the podium to address the judge, sheriff's officers removed his ankle and wrist shackles. Three officers stood between Bowcut and the audience during his allocution.

Bowcut apologized for his actions and took full responsibility "for all the pain I have caused." He has no explanation for why it happened.

He said the situation has been a "horrible experience for me," but he also said he wants to change and "get better."

Bowcut placed blame on no one but himself "and the stupid choices I made."

Ann Harper made a statement on behalf of the victims. She is Bowcut's mother-in-law.

She said Bowcut took "beautiful things" -- the victims -- and "made them ugly."

Harper shared part of a letter from another of her daughters. That woman referred to Bowcut as "every parent's worse nightmare."

Even though Harper tried to protect her family from evil, when her daughter Esther married Bowcut, "The devil insidiously slipped into our midst," she said.

Because of Bowcut's actions, Esther Bowcut has had to move away from her home and family and her family support, Harper said.

ShowStars

ShowStars was a child modeling agency that operated out of Vladivostok, Russia, by an individual known as Vitaly Vilisov. This agency was shut down in August 2007 as the result of an investigation by law enforcement. According to investigators, it's believed that some of the children involved in the agency were being sexually abused by Vilisov:

Child pornographer eludes investigators

The house on Semenovskaia Street

Vladivostok’s Frunzensky Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal case against a photographer who made and distributed erotic pictures of under-aged girls, a press statement from the office said Wednesday. Meanwhile the accused man fled the city in an unknown direction.

The 38-year-old photographer, identified only as Vitaly V., is charged with performing lecherous actions with the girls in his studio, a rented apartment on Semyonovskaya Street in downtown Vladivostok, where he was taking photos and videos showing the half-naked models in suggestive and erotic poses.

The man distributed the photos and videos through his personal website on the internet where visitors could place an order for any photo or video. The profit from a single foreign order amounted to between $100 and $300, prosecutors said.

For one photo shoot, the young models, from 12 to 15 years old, received payment of 500 to 1,000 rubles ($19.5 to $39). The man recruited girls through newspaper ads seeking ‘girls aged 7-12 and those not older 18 to work as photo models.’ He also hired young prostitutes on Vladivostok streets to model. For inviting a friend or acquaintance of hers to model, a girl received a bonus of 500 rubles.

According to investigators, the man asked some of his models to provide him with sexual services.

After the photographer’s interrogation, during which he only admitted to making ‘decent’ pictures, the man fled, aggravating the investigation process. The case has been put under special supervision, the statement from the Prosecutor’s Office reported."