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In the 1980s, Michael M. and John Kirby were prep school kids in New York City who had problems at home and welcomed the friendship of an older man named Stephen Brown. Brown, who was in his 30s at the time but told them he was 20-something, approached them at a luncheonette one day. The impressionable teens say they took him up on his offer to hang out at his swanky apartment, where they would smoke pot and cigarettes and listen to music. They trusted the man and were surprised -- but unsure how to handle it -- when they claim Brown started molesting them, showing them porno movies, and encouraging them to masturbate in his home.
You can imagine how having something this horrendous happen to you when you're young and naive would affect you for the rest of your life. But Michael and John can no longer be called sexual abuse victims because they found themselves able to do something extraordinary that led to Brown's arrest -- 30 years after he reportedly molested them.
If you can believe it, the pervert was able to get away with his disgusting abuse for three decades -- and who knows whether he abused other young people before Michael and John. The now-62-year-old apparently frequented Central Park to look for young victims. By some miracle of fate, John was in the park at the same time as Brown and instantly recognized him.
What he did next was pure genius. He and Michael used a camera with a 300-mm. lens to take photos of Brown as he lingered around a popular kids' attraction called the Central Park Children's Gate. The man was so pompous that he would actually visit the area every day, drawing suspicion from workers at the park -- who say they kept a close eye on him but that he never did anything overtly obvious that would justify them calling police.
After the men sent Brown's images to cops, they opened an investigation on him. It ultimately led to his arrest -- at a hotel in New York, where he was reportedly planning on meeting and engaging in sexual acts with a 12-year-old boy.
He was charged with possessing child pornography that he had taken himself, which included photos of the boy he was supposed to meet -- shot when he was 10 -- as well as 11,000 additional explicit pictures.
Thanks to Michael and John, Brown's current and potential future young victims will be saved from horrific abuse. Although there's never a way to fully recover from sexual abuse, I hope their brave actions help give the men some kind of closure and peace -- something they truly deserve.
Are you surprised Brown was able to continue allegedly abusing young people for so many years?
Image via Victor/Flickr
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