California Teen Disappears Years After Exposing Online Predator Ring

Warning: This article discusses child abuse and sexual exploitation of minors, which may be upsetting for some readers.

A teenager who became trapped in the world of online child pornography at just 13 years old seemed to disappear after he decided to tell the FBI everything.

Back in the year 2000, Justin Berry from California seemed like a typical 13-year-old. But behind the scenes, he had stepped into an unimaginable nightmare hidden deep in the darkest parts of the internet.

He had been given a webcam and hoped it would help him make new friends or maybe even meet a girl. But only minutes after sharing his first photo, he was pulled into a disturbing and profitable world of online child exploitation.

Over five years, Berry was manipulated into creating and selling explicit images and videos of himself. These included acts like masturbation and sex with prostitutes—all to satisfy the twisted desires of hundreds of predators targeting children online.

His heartbreaking story began to unfold publicly after New York Times journalist Kurt Eichenwald found him and encouraged him to open up to the FBI about his experiences—and the fact that other children were involved in the operation.

The teen testifying in April 2006 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Following the report, a six-month investigation revealed that webcam-based websites had been growing rapidly, mostly unnoticed by law enforcement or youth protection groups. This led to what was described as a wave of illegal, self-produced webcam content involving underage users.

By the time he was 19, Berry had agreed to work with federal prosecutors in return for immunity. He testified before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the United States House Committee in Washington, DC, where he described his deeply personal and traumatic journey.

He stated: "I am here to speak about a danger facing this nation's children, one that threatens not only their emotional health, but their physical safety. This danger is internet child pornography, particularly involving the use of inexpensive web cameras which are used by adult predators to exploit children."

New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald also testified in the case Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"My experience is not as isolated as you might hope," he continued. "This is not, as so many want to believe, the story of a few bad kids whose parents paid no attention. There are hundreds of kids in the United States alone who are right now wrapped up in this horror."

He remembered how, at just 13 years old, he uploaded his first image hoping to meet other teens online. But instead, he was quickly flooded with attention from older men who complimented his appearance and began sending him expensive gifts.

Eventually, someone offered him $50 just to take his shirt off. That moment marked the beginning of a much darker journey. His situation escalated quickly, leading to in-person meetings with adult men. He was sexually abused and forced to perform disturbing acts on camera throughout much of his adolescence.

"I was paid by more than 1,000 men to strip naked, masturbate and even have sex with female prostitutes while on camera," he said, explaining that adult criminals helped him run the operation.

Berry admitted he felt ashamed of what he had done. He shared that as a young teen, he couldn’t fully understand the seriousness of what was going on, but over time he became more corrupted and ended up doing things that deeply embarrassed him.

"Still, I repeatedly attempted to pull away from this sick business. But, each time, I fell back into this criminal world that had first seduced me, and eventually controlled me," Berry told the committee.

Berry also testified about a man named Ken Gourlay, who convinced him to attend a computer camp in Michigan when he was 15. Instead of a safe experience, Berry claimed that Gourlay drove him to his house and sexually abused him.

He said that Gourlay went on to abuse him multiple times. When questioned during the hearing, Gourlay invoked his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer any questions.

Berry made some media appearances during the height of the case but has since seemingly vanished YouTube/myfloridalegal

Despite sharing his story publicly, Berry expressed disappointment that very little had been done to bring the offenders to justice, stating: "Based on my case, efforts to prosecute these people are riddled with mistakes and bureaucracy. Unless something changes, hundreds, or even thousands, of children will be lost forever."

Still, after his testimony, journalist Eichenwald told NPR News that Berry’s case made a major impact. He explained that the entire industry connected to teen webcam sites had been shut down as a result.

"Somebody compared it to turning the lights on in the kitchen when the cockroaches are all in the center; they have scattered," the journalist remarked.

Although Berry's case helped push for new laws and a stronger political stance against child pornography, what happened to him personally remains unclear.

Between 2005 and 2007, he made a few media appearances. But in 2018, when he was 32 years old, Mexican news outlet El Vigia reported that Berry had gone missing in Mexico in August of that year.

It’s now been over seven years, and there have been no confirmed sightings or updates about his whereabouts.

If any part of this article has affected you, or if you are concerned about the safety or well-being of a child, you can contact the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453).

The hotline is available 24/7 and serves people in the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.