Woman recieves $200k damage award for victimization from child porn consumer

A now 19 year old victim of child porn has recieved the 1st ever award of its kind, a $200,000 restitution order against a Stonington, CT man who downloaded four images of her abuse, but did not create the child sexual abuse pictures. Judge Warren W. Eginton issued the order in a Bridgeport, CT federal courtroom this morning. The damages are split up as follows - $150,000 to the woman herself for medical and counseling expenses, $30,000 for legal fees and over $15,500 experts, including one who testitied that being a child porn victim has inflicted half a million dollars in future counseling costs.

[The] victim hired a lawyer to file a claim against [Alan]Hesketh. She told prosecutors she was 8 and 9 years old when she was subjected to sexual abuse by a relative who photographed her at the direction of a pedophile in another state. The woman claims those images have been circulated by "innumerable collectors of child pornography," including Hesketh, who downloaded four of the photographs. She submitted a damage claim to the U.S. Probation Department that seeks money for medical care, lost income, lost wages and future expenses. The claim is not available in the court file.

The victim's lawyer, James Marsh was hired by the woman and her mother just after the exploitation. He said that the people involved in trading child pornography do just as much damage as the people who create it.

”This notion that somehow we can excuse the defendant because there is no sexual contact is an affront to the victim,” Marsh said.

Prosecutors argued that the woman, whose sexual abuse photos have made themselves at home in child porn collectors' hands, should be compensated for "a decade of insult, injury, and enbarassment." Defense attorney Jonathan Einhorn stated that such an award would be unprecedented and substantially higher than the $50,000 average damages awarded to child porn victims from the producers.

Alan Hesketh, 62, an ex-vice president for Pfizer, was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for child porn posession by Judge Eginton in November 2008 after admitting to possessing almost 2000 images. As a British national, Hesketh will be deported back to the UK when he is released from prison. The NCMEC identified two dozen kids as known victims of child sexual abuse.

Hesketh's attorney, Jonathan Einhorn, announced that he would appeal the verdict. Judge Eginton suggested that Hesketh could meet restitution by selling one of his many properties, an $834,000 mansion in Stonington, but stated that due to the economy, the award could be distributed over a period of time.

"Restitution is not necessarily mandatory in all circumstances," Einhorn maintains.

But [Assistant US Attorneys Deborah] Slater and [Krishna]Patel claim that federal law makes restitution mandatory for all offenses of sexual exploitation and other abuses of children.

They said the losses could include payment for physical, psychiatric or psychological services; physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation; transportation; temporary housing; lost income; and attorney fees.

Jeffery Meyer, a former federal prosecutor, stated that damages for child porn collectors would be another tool in prosecutors and judges' hands besides longer sentences.

"We already see judges imposing long sentences," he said. Paying restitution would be "one more substantial deterrent to people who get involved in child pornography."

While Einhorn fears that the precedent setting decision would open an avenue for claims for others victimized in that way, child and victim's advocates hope that this leads to more claims by known child porn victims.

"If that's what happens, that's what happens," said Cindy Robinson, a lawyer with Tremont & Sheldon who represents people abused by Catholic priests. "These children suffer immeasurable damage."

"I hope it's true," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children in Alexandria, Va., who identified the girl's images for prosecutors. "I hope it spreads like wildfire. I hope it sends a message to those victimized that they can get help ... and creates kind of a deterrent effect that makes those think twice before downloading these images. I applaud the vision of this federal judge. I hope it is emulated."