Major Child Porn Network Busted In Montgomery County
By Walt Hunter
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Six suspects have been charged as part of a network that allegedly went online to lure teenage boys, as young as 13, into sexual assaults, which they put on video, then posted as child pornography.
The suspects from Montgomery County, Delaware and Oklahoma, allegedly assaulted the teenagers at various locations, including the restroom at a local shopping mall.
Prosecutors say the investigation began when parents, worried about their son's online activities, reached out to Limerick, Montgomery County police.
One of the suspects, Jason Becktold, is accused of convincing a teenage boy to place a hidden camera in the lockerroom of an unidentified high school to secretly record students "in various states of dress and undress."
Teachers and students at the high school have now been alerted by officials.
Another suspect, Christopher Steele is accused of having unprotected sex with a 14-year-old boy despite being HIV positive.
Finally prosecutors say with one of the suspects, Matthew Krapf allegedly having more than 500,000 child porn images on his computer, they believe there may be many victims they don't even know about.
If convicted, the suspects could be sentenced to life behind bars.
The attorney for Steele tells CBS 3 he has plead not guilty for his client, his client did not have sex with a 14-year-old. In fact, he says his client is an adult film star and that naked images of him are easily available and that all of the charges are due to confusion with an app or a web posting involving those images.
