Justin Berry (born July 24 1986) is an American who operated pornographic websites featuring himself and other teens, beginning at age 13.^[1] 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.^[2]

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^[3]. 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.^[4] before agreeing to the meeting.^[3]

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.^[3]

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.^[1]

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."^[1]

Interviews and Congressional testimony

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

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."^[5]

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.^[5]

Berry and Eichenwald were interviewed on Larry King Live by its host, Larry King, on April 4 2006. ^[6]

Further notoriety came when Berry & Eichenwald were interviewed by Katie Couric for NBC's morning talk show, Today.^[7]

They also were interviewed by Kathleen Brooks on the October 25 2006 episode of The Darkness to Light Show: Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence.^[8]

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.^[2]

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.^[9]

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.^[2] His engagements have included:

• International Violence, Abuse and Trauma Conference at Alliant International University in San Diego, September 14-19, 2006.^[2]
• Second Annual Cyber Security Awareness Conference held in Albany, New York on October 4 2006.^[2]
• Press Conference Roundtable Discussion held April 25, 2007 as part of the "National Victims' Rights Week Commemoration" held in Florida's capital, Tallahassee.^[10]

References

External links

• Justin Berry's official website
• "NY Times Internet Documentary" - The New York Times (December 19 2005) (Requires Windows or Mac OS)
• "The young boy lured into becoming an Internet porn star", Oprah Winfrey Show, Feb 15 2006.
• "The New York Times Legal Aid Society" - Slate Magazine
• "KurtEichenwald.com: The Back Story" - Slate Magazine
• "A Heartbreaker From Eichenwald And The Times" - CBS News report
• "Justin Berry - Sex, Lies and Videotape" - GenerationQ
• "The Winner Takes All" - GenerationQ
• "How Old Am I?" - GenerationQ
• "A Letter From Casey July 15 2006" - GenerationQ
• "A Letter From Casey November 20 2006" - GenerationQ
• "Sex diary betrays man's lust for boys" - Ann Arbor News article about Kenneth Gourlay
• Detroit Free Press article about Ken Gourlay's arrest
• Lansing State Journal article about Berry's hospitalization & Gourlay's trial
• Detroit Free Press article about Berry's hospitalization & Gourlay's trial
• "Witness says he was used for sex" - Ann Arbor News article detailing Berry's testimony against Gourlay
• Photo of Berry & Gourlay together - From the Google cache of Ken Gourlay's blog

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