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Justin Berry

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Justin Berry
File:Justinpicture1.jpgBerry at a McDonald's in Mexico, from MexicoFriends.com, one of his adult websites
Born (1986-07-24) July 24, 1986 (age 38)
Bakersfield, California
EducationStockdale High School
Occupation(s)Public speaker & former
webcam pornographer

Justin Berry (born July 24 1986) is an American who operated pornographic websites featuring himself and other teens, beginning at age 13. In 2005, at the age of 18, he cooperated in a New York Times feature article. Berry has made multiple media appearances talking about his experiences, and now works as a paid speaker on these issues. His current Web activities involve educating the public about Internet safety.

Eichenwald and the New York Times

In June 2005, New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald discovered Berry via a post made by Berry to a Yahoo! message board for his fans. Eichenwald contacted Berry anonymously on-line, telling Berry he was a songwriter (Eichenwald writes songs as a hobby) and asking to meet with him. Despite concerns that the anonymous contact might be a law enforcement officer, Berry accepted payment of $2,000 from Eichenwald on June 8, 2005. before agreeing to the meeting.

At the meeting, Eichenwald identified himself as a reporter and explained the true nature of his interest in Berry. Although Berry continued in the Internet pornography business after their initial meeting, in subsequent meetings, Eichenwald was able to gain Berry's confidence and an entry into his world.

Eichenwald requested demonstrations of the workings of Berry's online business which Berry provided, including live conversations with subscribers. After Berry revealed the identities of children who were being exploited by adults, Eichenwald persuaded him to discontinue the business and turn his information about those minors over to the authorities.

Eichenwald completed his research and writing, and, on December 19, 2005, the New York Times published "Through His Webcam, A Boy Joins A Sordid Online World," a feature-length story focusing on Berry's experiences as a "target" for "online pedophiles."

Interviews and Congressional testimony

Berry appeared with Eichenwald on the February 15 2006 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss his story.

File:Ken Gourlay & Justin Berry.jpg
Justin Berry (right) with Ken Gourlay
at Mazatlan airport

On April 4 2006, Justin Berry appeared before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce to give testimony on "Sexual Exploitation of Children Over the Internet: What Parents, Kids and Congress Need to Know About Child Predators." In this testimony he stated that "My experience is not as isolated as you might hope.." and went on to detail his ordeal. He expressed frustration that more was not being done to bring the perpetrators to justice, specifically those who molested him. Members of the committee said his testimony had fueled a new effort to toughen up the laws against the producers and purchasers of child pornography. They also praised his courage in stepping forward, with one Congressman going so far as to suggest that any new legislation that emerged from this new effort to combat child pornography be named "the Justin Berry Act."

Media appearances and other references

Berry, Eichenwald and Ken Gourlay (accused of molesting Berry) appeared on C-SPAN, an American cable television network, giving testimony before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Berry and Eichenwald were interviewed on Larry King Live by its host, Larry King, on April 4 2006.

Further notoriety came when Berry & Eichenwald were interviewed by Katie Couric for NBC's morning talk show, Today.

They also were interviewed by Kathleen Brooks on the October 25 2006 episode of The Darkness to Light Show: Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence.

Berry has appeared on other television shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and CTV CanadaAM. In July 2007, Berry created InternetSafety.tv as a world-wide anti-child pornography resource.

The NBC television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit aired an episode called "Web" on May 9 2006 that bears similarities to Berry's story.

Current activities

Speaking engagements

Starting in 2006, Berry has worked as a paid public speaker and has secured professional representation. He now speaks to various groups regarding alcoholism & drug abuse, computers, current events, education, generation issues, & image/self-esteem. His engagements have included:


References

  1. ^ Through His Webcam, a Boy Joins a Sordid Online World. Kurt Eichenwald. New York Times. 19 December 2005.
  2. ^ Berry's profile at Five Star Speakers
  3. ^ Reporter's Essay: Making a Connection with Justin. Kurt Eichenwald. New York Times. 19 December 2005.
  4. Editor's Note from The New York Times disclosing Eichenwald's failure to disclose a payment to Berry
  5. ^ Sexual Exploitation of Children Over the Internet: What Parents, Kids and Congress Need to Know About Child Predators Testimony of Justin Berry before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 4 April 2006.
  6. Transcript of Larry King Live. CNN. April 4 2006.
  7. Cite error: The named reference StocktonRecord was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. Streaming Audio. Kathleen Brooks. The Darkness to Light Show: Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence. October 25 2006.
  9. Season 7 Episode List from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  10. Justin Berry's official website

External links

This article uses content licensed under the GFDL from deleted revisions of Misplaced Pages's article on Justin Berry. A current version of that article can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/Justin_Berry. A list of previous authors of the page can be found at Justin Berry/Authors.

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