Croton "child pornography" case receives fifth continuance (update and comment)

Unlike in some other recent child pornography cases in our region, the U.S. Attorney’s office apparently sought to keep this one quiet. But online child abuse is not a “victimless crime.”

Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire

Since last August, when Croton resident Eric Kyu was arrested and charged by the FBI with possessing child pornography, the Chronicle has followed the case closely. Over the past months, Kyu has received a number of continuances from the federal court that is handling his case. Last month he received a fifth consecutive monthly continuance, requested by both the defense and the prosecution, and signed by Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY.)

This new continuance is valid until January 22.

The documents posted on the court docket for the Kyu case indicate that the prosecution and defense are engaged in continuing negotiations to try to avoid having to go to trial—in other words, for a plea deal. Meanwhile Kyu was released on $150,000 bail, secured by the home he and his family own in Croton; among the conditions of bail was that he could not visit his minor child without supervision by Child Protective Services.

As far as we know, most readers of the Chronicle have accepted the necessity that the community be kept informed about the progress of this case, including naming the accused (who is, of course, innocent until proven guilty in the eyes of the law.) We have had a little bit of pushback on our coverage, however, for example from one reader who thought we should not have named Kyu out of respect for his family, and from another who publicly declared that child pornography was a “victimless crime.”

In fact, it appears that the U.S. Attorney’s office for the SDNY may have broken with usual practice in not naming Kyu and publicizing the case itself. Just one week after Kyu was arrested, that office put out a press release announcing the arrest of Juan Tomas Diaz of the Bronx for one count of possessing child pornography, essentially the same charge that Kyu is now subject to.

In June of last year, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the SDNY put out a press release announcing the arrest of adult film actor Justin Heath Smith for distribution of child pornography, and there are many other examples.

Nicholas Biase, Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the SDNY, declined to comment when we asked why Kyu’s case had not been publicized like the others. That leaves us to speculate about the reasons: Were Kyu’s residence in the fairly well off village of Croton, and his employment in a good job at Regeneron, factors leading the U.S. Attorney to try to keep his case quiet?

We raise this question because that office only very reluctantly, and after repeated requests, gave us the information we needed to follow Kyu’s case on the court docket, which is actually public information.

Whatever the explanation, with this update we want to do a deeper dive into the issues surrounding child pornography, which under federal law is considered a serious crime. The most recent available figures, from the United States Sentencing Commission, indicate that child pornography offenses are on the rise. Of 1,408 cases in fiscal year 2023, 47.3% of the convicted individuals were sentenced for trafficking child pornography, 43.9% for possession, and 8.8% for receiving child pornography. More than 96% of those sentenced were U.S. citizens, and 99% of the individuals sentenced for child pornography received prison terms, with an average sentence of 114 months. The average sentence for individuals convicted solely of possessing child pornography was 79 months.

(Please note that these are averages and do not provide an indication in any individual case.)

Indeed, one of the jobs of defense attorneys for individuals accused of child pornography crimes is to convince judges that their clients deserve leniency.

Although prosecutors, jurists, criminologists and other experts often debate whether such severe sentences for child pornography offenses make sense in all cases, they are agreed on one issue: These are not “victimless crimes.” If one reads the FBI’s allegations in Kyu’s case, it will become clear that the very young children in the photographs and videos he is alleged to have possessed were treated in the most brutal, sexualized, and gross manner. (Warning: this document includes graphic descriptions of child pornography.)

In a recent paper in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect, the authors (from the University of Texas and the University of New Hampshire) interviewed prosecutors about their experiences working on such cases, and about their frustrations in getting even some judges to understand the seriousness of these offenses. The prosecutors generally pointed out that even if the accused defendant did not have actual contact with children, the market in child pornography materials creates victims in a very direct fashion.

Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire

Some of the most important research into child pornography has been carried out at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, and its Website offers a wealth of resources on the subject. We can refer readers to that center for more in-depth information. There have also been a number of studies over the years into what treatments might be available for consumers of child pornography, and this remains an active field of research (for some examples of this research see here, here, and here.)

Just how much impact this research will have on sentencing guidelines and ultimate treatment options for offenders remains to be seen, because on the federal level at least the penalties remain very severe. In 2022, for example, the Washington state Sex Offender Policy Board recommended that treatment rather than imprisonment be considered for individuals convicted of possessing or viewing child pornography, although clearly such experiments in sentencing reform would only be considered in cases where offenders did not have contact with children.

It may be the case that a great deal of public education would be required for the average citizen to accept such reforms, and of course researchers would have to be able to demonstrate clearly that treatment can be effective. It might be understandable if many, including in a small community like Croton, might not be too eager to embrace such solutions.

And although we have referred to “child pornography” in this article, some advocates have begun to argue that the very term shows misunderstanding—or at least lack of appreciation—of the terrible abuse that the victims of these crimes suffer, often for their entire lives. They ask that we call these offenses by the more accurate term of “child sexual abuse material,” to avoid the implication that possession, viewing, or trafficking of these images has any relationship to legal forms of pornography.

The Chronicle will continue to cover this and any other relevant cases that come up in our community. We invite respectful and polite comments at the link below.

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