Man who knew Behl charged [for child porn]

Richmond Times-Dispatch ^ | 9/24/05 | Jim Nolan

[freespirited]

Richmond Police yesterday arrested an amateur photographer - one of the last people to see Virginia Commonwealth University freshman Taylor Behl before she vanished Sept. 5 - and charged him with 16 counts of possession of child pornography.

Ben Fawley, 38, was arrested about 3 p.m. just as a phalanx of armed and armored police officers converged on his doorstep in the 400 block of Hancock Street.

"Open the door, Ben," ordered a detective, who was filmed making the arrest by a local TV crew.

Moments later, the bespectacled Fawley exited in a black T-shirt. Police said his long, dyed blond hair and matching goatee of a few days ago had been trimmed and dyed black. He was handcuffed without incident and led into a waiting police vehicle.

A contingent of investigators from the multi-agency task force searching for Behl converged on Fawley's house, executing their second search warrant at the premises over the past week.

Fawley's lawyer, Chris Collins, was present at the time of the arrest. He said the search warrant filed by police sought various items of clothing and jewelry from Fawley and Behl, as well as electronics, cell phones, identification, and license plates.

A separate search warrant was also issued requiring Fawley to submit hair and DNA samples to police.

Officials said the child-pornography charges stem from video evidence gathered during a search of Fawley's home last week, during which police confiscated seven computers. One source close to the investigation said the evidence depicts adults and children in sexually themed movies.

Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe declined to comment specifically on the evidence, saying only: "Our investigation led to an individual that had possession of child pornography, which is of grave concern to us."

[freespirited]

Does anyone think the real reason they locked him isn't child porn but flight risk? The dyed hair is kind of a tip off, isn't it? Deja vu all over again. Richmond has its very own Scott Peterson.

[Gay State Conservative]

Somehow,this doesn't make sense.If they guy's doing child porn,what's he doing with a college freshman?

[r9etb]

If they guy's doing child porn,what's he doing with a college freshman?

Prolly operated at the upper end of "child," using early- mid-teen girls. Taylor Behl is 17, which would fit the profile.

[Gay State Conservative]

Prolly operated at the upper end of "child," using early- mid-teen girls. Taylor Behl is 17, which would fit the profile.

That could be correct.But then,how do cops go about establishing that a girl is,say,15 rather than 17 (assuming 17 is the age of consent) unless they know the identity of the girl and when the photo was taken?

[MineralMan]

Here's Fawley's mug shot from a previous encounter with the cops:

[Aggie Dad]

DC area TV news reported that the two had been "intimate".

Tell me what kinda college freshman girl goes for a 38 year old pornographer?

[Aaron0617]

Thanks for the updates. I have more info on what they found ~

Ben Fawley, 38, was arraigned on 16 counts of child pornography. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mike Jagels said investigators found evidence in Fawley's computers of at least 30 movies depicting sexual acts with children between the ages of 10 and 14 and as young as 1 to 2 years old.

Friend Of Missing Teen Arraigned On Child Porn Charges