A Florida nudist pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography Friday after being accused of taking photographs of his three young daughters, aged 8 to 12, and sharing them with other men.
Brian Martens, 54, who lived with his children at a nudist colony in Palm Beach County, faces 10 to 17 years in prison for possession of child pornography, including images of children who were not related to him, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Martens had asserted that the pictures of his daughters were "family portraits" of a naturist family, however two judges who saw the photos did not agree.
Martens came to the attention of authorities last year after investigators discovered photos of his daughters on a computer belonging to a neighbor, Leslie Grey Vanaman, 45, now serving 60 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography.
Vanaman, a professional photographer and owner of A Shade of Grey Photography, had a prior 2004 state conviction in New Jersey for possessing child pornography.
Investigators discovered thousands of emails between Martens and Vanaman, including one containing a series of nude photos of children between the ages of 8 and 11 that were taken in a studio setting. According to prosecutors, the photographs showed their genitals and involved unnatural poses for children suggesting "sexual coyness" or "an apparent willingness to engage in sexual activity."
The report states Martens, Vanaman and a third man had emailed discussions about "the sensuality and sexuality" of the images.
"[Martens] shared these photographs with an email group of approximately a dozen members," prosecutors wrote.
When Marten was arrested by Homeland Security agents, he was carrying a computer thumb drive containing images of naked children. A search of his laptop turned up more child pornography, some of it downloaded from the Internet.
"He feels terrible about this," Marten's attorney James Eisenberg said.
According to Eisenberg, Marten's three daughters were taken into foster care when their father was arrested and will be released to the custody of their mother.
[Photographer taking photo on Shutterstock]
