Man Gets 24 Years in Prison for Posing as Dying Boy to Sexually Coerce Girls

**voivod** · 05.22.07, 07:51 AM

PORTLAND, Ore. — A 31-year-old man was sentenced Monday to more than 24 years in federal prison for posing online as a teenage boy dying of leukemia in an effort to coerce young girls into sending him sexually explicit images.

Joshua Kistler chatted regularly with at least nine girls nationwide who ranged in age from 12 to 14. He used the condition to gain the girls' sympathy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

He even sent them pictures of his stepson, an actual 15-year old, to further his story, authorities said.

He also posed as the stepfather of his online persona. In one case, a victim and her mother visited the "stepfather" during a family trip, believing the teenage boy was away receiving treatment.

Several victims said they loved and trusted Kistler, who asked them to send photos of them nude or perform sexual acts for him in front of Web cameras.

Kistler, who pleaded guilty to charges of producing child pornography, apologized during his appearance in U.S. District Court.

"I'm sorry for the harm I've caused," he said. "I wasn't aware I was causing any harm."

The victim whose case led to Kistler's arrest was a Utah girl who started chatting online with him when she was 12.

According to the Justice Department, Kistler told the victim that he had cut off contact with another girl because of the Utah girl's jealousy and that the other girl had killed herself. Overcome with guilt, the Utah girl attempted suicide, and law enforcers became involved.

The girl attempted suicide a second time after the mother tried to stop the relationship.

The mother read the words of her daughter in court.

"He taught me stuff a 12-year old should not know," KGW-TV reported. "My love of my life turned out to be a 30-year-old pedophile."

Kistler told agents that he knew what he was doing was wrong and that he had always "been a collector."

**willy4pres** · 05.22.07, 08:02 AM

voivod, that is a horrible story.

**Wickett** · 05.22.07, 08:54 AM

"I'm sorry for the harm I've caused," he said. "I wasn't aware I was causing any harm."

Either he's in denial or clueless..

The internet is really an evil tool in the wrong hands...

**voivod** · 05.22.07, 09:05 AM

WWW = Wild Wild West

Babysitter of the 80's; Cable TV

Babysitter of the 2000's; Internet

**wham bam will rock** · 05.22.07, 10:04 AM

And with a name like JOSHUA.

Lord help us all.........

**ZeoBandit** · 05.22.07, 10:37 AM

I can't believe the parents of the girl fell for that as well. That's the unbelievable part of the story.

**vhrocker** · 05.22.07, 11:34 AM

He'll be somebodys bitch in prison. Deserves him right.

**Kimmie5150** · 05.22.07, 02:02 PM

That is one sick bastard.

**onefootoutthedoor** · 05.22.07, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Kimmie5150

That is one sick bastard.

Yes he is. It also makes you wonder about some of the aliasing trolls here. Both are demented, albeit the one from the news is on a different level.

**Kimmie5150** · 05.22.07, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by onefootoutthedoor

Yes he is. It also makes you wonder about some of the aliasing trolls here. Both are demented, albeit the one from the news is on a different level.

I've got pretty much all of it figured out.

**willy4pres** · 05.22.07, 02:36 PM

Originally Posted by onefootoutthedoor

Yes he is. It also makes you wonder about some of the aliasing trolls here. Both are demented, albeit the one from the news is on a different level.

lol...

Anyway, figured I would beat voivod to the punch and post this one:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/05/22/fa....ap/index.html

NEW YORK (AP) -- A fashion writer accused of sexually abusing a former co-worker while dressed as a firefighter hoped to go to New Orleans and lead a gang of angry Hurricane Katrina survivors, a psychologist testified.

Dr. William Barr, a neuropsychologist, said Monday that the plan was something Peter Braunstein told him he considered while on the run after the attack on the woman on Halloween night 2005 in New York.

"He talked about going to New Orleans because he thought there were a lot of angry people down there and he could provide them some kind of leadership," Barr testified.

He said that Braunstein saw the gang as having "people just like me" and that his speeches would be "mixed with some kind of end-of-the-world philosophy."

Barr, the last witness at Braunstein's kidnapping and sex abuse trial in state Supreme Court, did not say whether the defendant explained what he hoped the gang would do.

Barr was testifying for the prosecution under cross-examination by defense lawyer Robert C. Gottlieb when he mentioned that Braunstein had pretended to be a Katrina survivor so he could get free food, clothing and shelter.

Braunstein kept a journal in which he describes wandering Tennessee posing as a Katrina survivor.

Gottlieb asked whether Braunstein's Katrina gang idea showed that he was delusional, and Barr replied that while it indicated "grandiose," self-important thinking, it did not necessarily demonstrate a psychotic delusion.

The jury is being asked to consider that mental illness contributed to what the defense says was Braunstein's lack of ability to form criminal intent, Justice Thomas Farber said in a conference on final instruction.

Braunstein, 43, is accused of igniting smoke bombs while wearing firefighter gear and tricking his way into a former co-worker's apartment, where he knocked her out with chloroform, tied her to a bed and sexually abused her for nearly 13 hours.

Braunstein never got to New Orleans. Police captured him at the University of Memphis on December 16, 2005, about six weeks after he fled New York. He stabbed himself in the neck as police approached.

Braunstein has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, burglary, sex abuse and robbery charges, although Gottlieb concedes his client attacked the woman. He says his client, who would face 25 years to life in prison if convicted, is mentally ill and should be acquitted.