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Somerville Web host eyed in kiddie porn probe Abstract: [Michael Vaughan], who runs the anti-child porn site, www.predator- hunter.com, said he started tracking kiddie porn sites last year when he learned about the controversial group, NAMBLA - North American Man- Boy Love Association. Caption: FACING INVESTIGATION: Nimenet.com is facing a probe over kiddie porn sites such as these, the addresses and content of which have been censored by the Herald. Full Text: A Somerville Internet service provider run by two local college students is under investigation for hosting nearlya dozen kiddie porn sites, some depicting naked children as young as 5. "These kids are being exploited for money and that's despicable," said Michael Vaughan, a computer hacker who tracks child pornography Web sites for law enforcement agencies across the country. "They could be anybody's kids." According to computer records, a cache of pay sites featuring nude underage boys and girls are hosted by Nimenet.com, an Internet service provider in Somerville's Union Square. The company is run by Bunker Hill Community College student Tim Richards and his boyhood pal, Aaron Brown,a Boston University student. The pair, both 19, founded the upstart Web hosting company while in middle school. Last night authorities took computer equipment from Richards and Brown and were questioning the pair, according to Ann Donlan, spokesman for Attorney General Thomas Reilly. They were cooperating, she said, and it was unclear if they would be charged. "The investigation will continue as far as determining those responsible for the child pornography," Donlan said late last night. Reached earlier last evening, Richards acknowledged owning Nimenet and hosting several of the questionable Web sites, but denied creating any of the sites' content. "We don't check out most of our people," Richards said, alluding to the child porn sites. "They're certainly not being run by my company. Hosted, yes, but run, no." He said he would cooperate with any criminal probe. Richards said he is unsure where most of the sites are created but knows at least one is based in Russia. The case is under investigation by the Somerville Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the AG's office. The attorney general began investigating after receiving tips, including one from Australia, said Donlan. "The Attorney General's Office high-tech and computer crimes division has been investigating for a week after receiving several tips," she said. A computer user in Australia spotted the porn and notified the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who in turn contacted the attorney general's office. Somerville police Lt. Paul Upton declined comment, citing the sensitivity of the ongoing probe. The computer company has a post office box at a Union Square print shop and fax numbers in Somerville and Everett. Nimenet also has a post office box in the owners' hometown of Ellicott City, Md. "This has the potential to be a very big case," one law enforcement source said yesterday, adding that the probe is in the early stages. Brown said he was "not entirely shocked" that some of the sites they host contained kiddie porn because the company uses an automated sign-up system. In the past, the company has found some illegal sites and removed them. "It's against our service agreement," Brown said yesterday. "If they are in fact kiddie porn, we'll shut them down tonight." Some of the sites contain so-called "legitimate" pornography, while others contain what experts call "mid-range" child porn or child erotica. One site praises young "lolitas," and proudly boasts of being "dedicated to the beauty of young girls 5-16 years old." "Our site gives you possibility (sic) to appreciate the emerging form of young women," the site's homepage reads. "All photos honors (sic) the purity and innocence of youth." Another site includes "thousands of pics of boys 5-17 years old." Most of the sites include disclaimers saying that the pictures are intended as art, not pornography. The sites do not advertise sex. All charge between $29.95 and $39.95 per month which is billed through Nimenet. Under state law, it is illegal to distribute images of minors engaged in sex acts or posed in a "lascivious" manner. Violators face 10 to 20 years in prison and fines up to $50,000 or three times the amount of money made off the illegal materials. State law also makes it illegal to buy images of minors engaged in various sex acts or "portrayed in any pose, posture or setting involving a lewd exhibition." Violators face up to five years in state prison plus fines. At least one of the Nimenet-hosted sites is in clear violation of federal laws, according to Vaughan. The site, which contains naked pictures of young boys, touts itself as a "coming of age collection of the male body, from ages 10-20." Visitors to the site are automatically linked to a pay "XXX" gay porn site. Under federal law, it is illegal for child erotica sites to be linked to E-commerce adult pornography sites. "Obviously, we're concerned about these children," said Kathy Free, spokeswoman for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "We want to identify them, but these images could be coming from anywhere." Free said the case highlights the reason child pornography has flourished on the Internet. "Law enforcement agencies are often playing catch-up," she said. "It takes a lot of training and equipment to track down these people." Most Bay State police departments now have a computer expert, while several agencies, including the AG's office, have federally funded high-technology crime units. Vaughan, who runs the anti-child porn site, www.predator- hunter.com, said he started tracking kiddie porn sites last year when he learned about the controversial group, NAMBLA - North American Man- Boy Love Association. "I couldn't believe this stuff existed," Vaughan, 30, said. NAMBLA, a nonprofit group that advocates relationships between men and young boys, came under fire after the murder and rape of Jeffrey Curley of Cambridge. One of the 10-year-old boy's killers, Charles Jaynes, visited the NAMBLA Web site in the hours before kidnapping Curley.
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