Posted on 12/07/2009 5:09:57 PM PST by NYpeanut
If filmmaker Lawrence F. Brose goes to trial and wins an acquittal in his child pornography case, he will accomplish two firsts at Buffalo's federal court.
He would be the first person ever arrested in a federal Internet child porn case to go to trial in Buffalo.
He also would be the first person to emerge without a felony conviction.
Every other person charged with such crimes in the federal courts of Western New York — including at least 189 men since October 2005 — has either been convicted or still has charges pending, according to court records.
A few men got breaks from federal judges, but authorities say most local defendants who admitted to possession of child porn got federal prison terms of at least four to 10 years.
If a defendant chooses to go to trial and is convicted of the more serious charge of receiving child porn, he can get up to 20 years.
"We have never had a federal child pornography case go to trial here in Buffalo. Everyone has pleaded guilty," U.S. Attorney Kathleen M. Mehltretter said. "We did have three cases go to jury trials in Rochester, and all three were convicted."
On a national scale, federal trials in such cases are rare and acquittals exceedingly rare. According to the U.S. Justice Department, 7,234 people have been arrested on federal child porn charges since 2006. Of those, 292 defendants went to trial. All but 15 were convicted.
Looking at all options
Could Brose, executive director and chief curator of the CEPA Gallery in downtown Buffalo, become the first local person to test the child porn possession laws at a federal trial?
He might, according to his lawyer and others who know him.
"I'm looking at all options on how to defend this case," said Paul J. Cambria, Brose's attorney. "I'm looking at putting the government to a full test. Before we decide where we're heading, I have to talk to my client in more detail. And I have to look at the images they have charged him with possessing."
Cambria is nationally known as a First Amendment expert. His most famous client is Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler and other sex magazines.
Defense attorneys say the extremely tough federal sentences for possession and receiving of child pornography make it a huge risk to take a case such as Brose's to trial.
"If you go to trial, and you lose, you could be risking 15 to 20 years in prison for your client," said Buffalo defense attorney Thomas J. Eoannou. "If you take a plea, you're looking at a lot less time, maybe 10 years, but it's still a lot of jail time."
While hundreds of men — and only one woman — have been arrested locally over the past 15 years, Brose is probably the highest-profile individual charged in a Buffalo child porn case.
An art curator also known for his cutting-edge films, the 58-year-old Brose was charged Nov. 25 with felony counts of receiving and possessing 1,300 Internet images of child porn. He pleaded not guilty.
Brose told federal agents that he thought the people in the images on his computer were all over the age of 18, according to court papers. Under federal law, the images must show people under 18 in order to qualify as child porn. Brose has not made any public statements about his arrest. But his supporters say he told them he obtained the images as research for a film project. "He downloaded images that he thinks he might be able to use in some future project," said James E. Rolls, president of the board of directors at the CEPA Gallery, where Brose serves as chief curator and executive director.
Four images described
Whether that is true or not, federal child porn laws contain no exemptions for people who obtain such materials for research, Mehltretter said.
Mehltretter has her own theory on why the vast majority of men accused with federal child porn crimes wind up pleading guilty — they are guilty.
"None of these defendants wants a jury to see the images that they possessed, because many of the images are extremely graphic and disturbing," Mehltretter said. "The images often show young children or even babies in actual or simulated sexual activity ... Some of them show adults raping young children."
Mehltretter said her remarks were not meant as a description of the images in Brose's case. In court papers, prosecutors said Brose's laptop computer contained "approximately 1,300 images depicting children of less than 18 years of age engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images were saved in various folders on the desktop of his computer."
Court papers describe four of the 1,300 images in some detail. All four are described as images of "nude young boys." In two of the images, the boys are described as fondling themselves, but the court papers make no mention of violent sex or the presence of adults in any of the images.
Brose told federal agents that he believed all the images he downloaded were "of individuals who were 18 years old or older," prosecutors said in court papers.
Investigators have already verified that the individuals in those four images are all under 18, Mehltretter said. She described Brose's case as "fairly typical" of those involving local men charged with child porn crimes.
Brose is not accused of creating child pornography, selling or distributing images to others, or having any improper contact with children. He faces two felony charges, one for possessing child porn and one for receiving it.
The charge of receiving child porn carries a maximum prison term of 20 years and a "mandatory minimum sentence" of five years. The possession charge carries a maximum of 10 years, with no required minimum sentence.
Facing those two charges puts a defendant in a difficult legal situation, said Marianne Mariano, who heads the federal public defenders office in Buffalo.
"The government frequently files both those charges, even though they're basically the same crime," Mariano said.
Recent cases
Because the receiving charge has a minimum five-year sentence and potentially up to 20 years, many men plead guilty only to the possession charge — if prosecutors will allow it — and hope for some leniency from the judge, Mariano and other lawyers said.
The Buffalo News examined four of the most recent sentencings for child porn possession in Buffalo's federal court.
Kenneth D. Lamb II of Jamestown was sentenced to 10 years in September. He admitted to possessing 23 videos and 10 images of child porn, some including children under the age of 12 in "sexually explicit conduct."
Henry Guzman of Buffalo, an Air Force veteran and former bank worker, got a 10-year sentence in October. Prosecutors said his computer contained "sadistic images" of children under the age of 12.
Wayne Apotosky, an electrician from Buffalo, got 12 years in October. He pleaded guilty to two felony possession counts, admitting his computers contained 300 images and 10 videos, which included images of young children being forced by adults to have sex.
But David Navarro, a hotel clerk from Buffalo, got a much shorter prison term — five years and 10 months — on Nov. 25. FBI agents arrested Navarro after 41 child porn images were found on a BlackBerry device he left in the restroom of a local shopping mall. Another 446 child porn images were found on two computers he used.
Getting a break
A handful of child porn offenders have received much bigger breaks from federal judges in Buffalo.
In 2005, Arcara sent George A. Adymy, a former Hamburg police officer, to prison for one year, despite guidelines calling for a prison term of more than three years. The judge said the ex-cop's actions were the apparent result of "a mental sickness."
Last year, Allen Dise, a former graphics editor at The Buffalo News, got a three-year sentence from District Judge William M. Skretny. Guidelines in that case called for a sentence of 6½ years.
"We submitted extensive psychiatric reports and reports from people who knew him, showing that Allen Dise had never abused children and that there were no indications that he ever would," said Dise's attorney, Mark J. Mahoney. "You have to really litigate these cases in the sentencing process and fight for the client."
For each defendant, the guideline range for sentencing is based on a complex set of factors, which include the number of child porn images, the ages of the children shown, the graphic nature of the images, the offender's past record and whether he accepts responsibility for his crime. A judge can give a sentence below the guideline range if he feels the circumstances of the case warrant it.
Men convicted of child porn possession also get additional prison time for using computers to access images. Mahoney said such an enhancement "makes no sense" in an era when so many people have computers.
Mehltretter said federal prosecutors and agents do not determine sentencing policies, which are based on laws passed by Congress and how they are interpreted in court.
Society should be concerned about men who look at child porn, even if the individuals have no history of harming children, said Dr. David G. Heffler, a Lockport psychotherapist who counsels sex offenders.
"If you're looking at this material, you're on a slippery slope that could someday lead to actual molestation of a child," Heffler said. "As time goes on, many of these men start looking for more and more graphic images, with younger children. And eventually, some of them molest children. There's been no definitive study on how often it happens, but it does happen."
dherbeck@buffnews.com
His defense attorney is filthy rich trash.
This story beats the guy who claimed his cat downloaded child pornography.
Aaaahhh. The Pete Townsend defense.
“If you’re looking at this material, you’re on a slippery slope that could someday lead to actual molestation of a child”
- Not to belittle the crime, but this is bullshit. Guns don’t cause people to go on shooting sprees. People who watch snuff films (i.e. faces of death) don’t go out and want to kill people as a result. People who watch films about the holocaust don’t go out and slaughter Jews and Christians. People who watch sadistic horror fests like “I spit on your gave, The Thing, and Evil Dead” don’t go on murder sprees.
Sure, punish the offenders who buy this stuff, but dont go on this liberal claptrap whine-spree of justifying the theft of more taxdollars for your Nanny State. We can take care of ourselves.
This story also was more important to the editor of the buffalo news than the climate hoax that they still have not written about.
the defenders include the editor, she has a lot to answer for.
Porn is different from all the other things that you described. It can be addictive like a drug (not to everyone). After the “high” wears off people go looking for more “high”. After a while it takes more to get “high”. If someone has devolved into child porn you can pretty much bet that it didn’t start and it isn’t going to stop there.
This is easy to follow: consumers of snuff films create the demand for more snuff films, making them logical accomplices to the producers. Not BS, and your guns analogy is silly. Guns don’t create the demand for murder victims.
Pervs who look at child porn create the demand for it and are culpable for its production. You might not like the way that fits, but it fits.
What are snuff films?
“We can take care of ourselves.”
Maybe we can take care of ourselves but the innocent children that are abused in these films and images cannot take care of themselves. Someone has to take care of them.
A film of an actual murder. Some people pay big bucks to see such a thing. Pitiful how evil some are.
O my! I couldnt imagine such a thing. I felt strange just reading what you wrote. God help us.
A film of an actual murder. Some people pay big bucks to see such a thing
I thought we had a plethora of those with all the Muzzie head detachment films.
I forced myself to watch the beheading of Daniel Pearl. It took me about 20 minutes to actually click on the link and I was terrified because I realized that I would never forget what I was about to see and that I would never be the same (part of the reason I watched it).
The other day, I watched an Anne Frank movie. I cried for nearly two hours and I went upstairs and made my husband put all the children in bed with us because I wanted to hold them.
I cannot imagine watching someone being murdered for entertainment. Even worse, I could not imagine murdering someone in cold blood. I could kill to defend myself or my family but I think it would have a profound effect on my life even then.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402477/posts
Interesting post from today.
I had the same experience with the beheading vids. Had to go through it to know what we are really dealing with.
Thank you for your prayers for my daughter today
You are welcome. How is she doing?
My cat once held up a bank.
Back home with her father. Stablized for the time being. We are waiting to connect with the doc in the morning. If she decompensates again, back again. Crazy healthcare we have these days.
I will continue to pray for you and your family. May the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.
Thank you.
I am humbled
Thank you.
I am humbled
Thank you.
I am humbled
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.