万花筒 Kaleidoscope 2007-03-01&03, 未成年模特登台

NBC6 first exposed child modeling websites, sites that they’re still marketing 1 provocative 2 pictures of underage girls. Now our investigation 3 stretches to Alabama where two south Florida men faced child porn charges. One young victim has a warning about how an innocent request to become a star turned into selling innocence 4. Some of the pictures are disturbing. Jeff Burnside reports:

Savannah Haile is much like any other twelve-year-old girl growing up in eastern Alabama, Tiny Phoenix 5 City.
"Do your friends know what happened?"
"Two or three"
Now she is talking about something that should never happen to a little girl.
" You’ve always liked being in front of a camera, haven't you?"
"Always."
In 2004 Savannah and her mother Tabitha were contacted by a photographer who saw a picture she put on-line. It seemed stardom was in reach.
"I was very excited, and I was jumping, literally 6 jumping and screaming at the same time."
The first of three shoots was fine. The second made her uncomfortable.
"Did you tell your mom?"
"No, ‘cause I didn't think anything of it."
"And then the third shoot?"
"Very very uncomfortable. I didn't like the way their outfits 7 were, um, the way they were on me and the way that, the way I looked."
"It was sexual, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"I never dreamed there was such a thing as websites like that for children. I felt like I just destroyed my child and I scared her."
Without knowing her photos under the name Bailey became part of the disturbing underworld of child websites showing girls as young as seven. These are by no means the most lurid 8. Our 2001 NBC6 investigation exposed the operation that is the Webe Web, Jeff Libman, shirtless and Marc Greenberg , running these websites from Fort Lauderdale . They put Savannah's photos online.

"But the mother decided 9 to fight back and take action. The very next day, she called the FBI."
"I went non-stop. I was on the phone constantly -- Washington, House Representatives, everybody, I didn't care."

Savannah's photographer Jeff Pierson used this Alabama studio to shoot for the south Florida web operators whose sites have been shut down. Pierson pleaded guilty to child porn and he is now cooperating with prosecutors 10. Child advocates say they're not surprised kids like Savannah are tricked.
"We are dealing 11 with manipulative, cunning, very greedy individuals who will find a way into exploit. They are going to look for vulnerable people, maybe somewhat naive 12 people."
It 's the poses that lead to child porn charges against Greenberg and Libman even though the models were clothed. Both have pleaded not guilty. Tabitha Haile wishes she had seen our investigation before that third photo session when from a waiting room she realized what was happening.
“I didn't like that at all.”
She felt helpless to stop the photo session she says, because the photographer had casually 13 displayed a gun, something his attorney called absurd.
I realized she was just intimidating 14 me. And Savannah looked at me. She said, "Momma, let's wipe our face. How do I win, coming all crying?" She said:"Let's do this and get it over with and never come back."
Now they want to warn others.
"Yeah, so they wouldn't be in the same situation as I am."
Pierson's attorney will not comment further. Greenberg and Libman's attorney did not respond to our repeated requests for interviews. Both are out unbound awaiting trial. Jeff Burnside NBC6.

And right now on NBC6.net, click on special reports and watch the full interview with Savannah, download the part of the cast and watch the original investigation. That's NBC6.net