SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

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Teen sex photos a troubling trend

By Alan Burke
Staff writer
Published: June 19, 2009

SALEM — It reads like a good police procedural novel, but the process of convicting Kyle Fuchs of Saugus for raping and taking explicit photos of underage girls has frightening implications, according to District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Fuchs, who pleaded guilty earlier this month, is serving an eight- to 10-year sentence in state prison and will be under lifetime parole thereafter.

"The trend is troubling to me," Blodgett said yesterday, noting that he's seen it increasingly.

A young man, 17 or 18, meets a girl two or three years younger and draws her into sex. "And he says, 'If you love me, you'll let me take these pictures.'"

The girl gives in because she thinks this is the love of her life, Blodgett mused. "Kids are trusting. Kids are vulnerable. ... It's also a form of bullying."

At worst, the photos include sex acts. If the relationship ends, the male can grow angry. "He sends (electronically) the photos to 40 friends," Blodgett said. Or to MySpace and Facebook.

Yet, just as the Internet helped disseminate Fuchs' illegal photos, the Internet was his undoing.

In 2007, Agent Steve Gamvroulas of the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force was searching the computer of a man suspected of receiving child porn. He was disturbed to see a young girl involved in sexual activities in some of the 42 pictures she appeared in.

She was also portrayed in a sweatshirt with a name "... scott" partially revealed, said Trooper Mike Murphy of the Massachusetts State Police. She wore a New England Patriots jersey in another. Gamvroulas alerted Massachusetts authorities, who narrowed the search to Swampscott.

Low-tech methods — shoe leather — located the victim. Shown photos including only her face, Swampscott school officials produced the girl, who said she began having sex with Kyle Fuchs when she was 14 in 2006.

"The defendant would have been 17 at the time," prosecutor Greg Friedholm said. During this relationship, Fuchs was already on probation for sexual assault on another girl.

Police seized his computer and discovered hundreds of nude and sexually explicit photos. Murphy and Saugus Detective Jim Donovan began to seek out any of the girls whose photos indicated they were involved personally with the suspect.

"Jim went out and looked at every school he could," Murphy said.

"We went through yearbooks," Donovan said.

Six underage victims were found. One was in Boyd, Texas. Via computer, Fuchs had persuaded her to send nude images. Two girls told police they'd been physically coerced into sex with Fuchs, who was himself 15 and 16 at the time.

All this was difficult for the girls — only one seemed aware her image could be on the Internet.

"They shut down," Donovan said. "They broke down."

Each girl knew they were being photographed.

"They all said he pressured them," Murphy said.

A victim advocate, Maria Arroyo-Long, helped ease their concerns.

At trial, the defendant's lawyer, Fred McAlary, painted him, in part, a victim of the culture. "I don't believe any of us realize how rampant this is among teenagers," he said.

Salem Superior Court Judge Howard Whitehead conceded at sentencing, "This kind of behavior is an outgrowth of the sexting culture." But he added that suggested sentencing guidelines were inadequate for Fuchs and he levied a harsher sentence.

"That's closure for the girls," Donovan said. "I hope."

Whitehead warned that sexting "opens the door for predators to come in and exploit" teens.

"The old rules still apply," advised state police Sgt. Tom Neff. "As parents, you've got to be involved with your children."

The district attorney's office hasn't forgotten the pictures on Fuchs' computer. Possession is still a crime — regardless of the current age of the victim. Thus the images have been made available to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Virginia, which will continue to seek out any use of them on the Internet.

"It's a picture of a crime scene," Murphy said.

"We want to be sure we protect our citizens," Blodgett said. "Especially our young citizens."

His office has established procedures to swiftly deal with these types of criminals, he said, by focusing on "their weapon of choice — and that is the computer."

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