Trial Set in YouTube Teen Sex Case

A 21-year-old man facing numerous felonies for allegedly recording his teenage brother having sex and posting it on YouTube will go to trial later this year on a number of charges.

Rockingham Superior Court staff said Wednesday that Robert Stephens, 21, of 16 Prospect St., Apt. 1, in Exeter, is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on June 7 and will go to trial on June 17 on six different felonies.

Stephens faces substantial jail time if convicted on the charges, which include two counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, two counts of distribution of child sex abuse images, and two counts of possession of child sex abuse images, according to court staff.

Stephens allegedly used a laptop webcam in May 2011 to film his 15-year-old brother having consensual intercourse in a Page Lane cottage with a 14-year-old Massachusetts girl they had met on the beach, according to a police affidavit filed at the court.

Stephens also allegedly attempted to have sex with the 14-year-old girl before another individual physically pulled him away from the juvenile.

Hampton police learned of the alleged incident on Jan. 19, 2012, when the department received a call from a Newbury, Mass., school resource officer, who said a female student reported she found online an unauthorized video of herself having sex with another teen, according to the affidavit.

The 39-second clip was posted on YouTube under an explicit title, and the information sparked a New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation led by Hampton Detective Chris Gilroy, Hampton's Internet crimes investigator and a member of the task force.

The female victim identified Stephens during that investigation, and Stephens' identity and the existence of the video was also confirmed through a search of the man's YouTube account and during an undercover investigation into his Facebook profile, according to Gilroy's affidavit.

Gilroy wrote in his statement that Stephens also allegedly began "hitting... up" the female victim through Facebook not long after the incident in May 2011, and allegedly told the victim she should "become a prostitute" and "sell herself" for money.

The victim told Gilroy that Stephens — whom she said was drinking while recording her having sex — allegedly indicated through Facebook "he wanted money" and that he could facilitate additional sexual encounters, according to the affidavit.

"He stated he would 'set it up' so that she could have sex for money," wrote Gilroy in his report, adding that the victim said Stephens allegedly told her "it's not that bad" to do so.

Police were able to locate screenshots of the explicit video on Stephens' YouTube account during the investigation.

Stephens' first attempt to post the video was blocked by the site, which bans pornography, although Gilroy found the video posted again under a different title and under a "private" setting that only Stephens' YouTube followers could view, according to Gilroy in the affidavit.

Gilroy said he was able to view a still image of the sexual act, however, which helped secure one of multiple search warrants for Stephens' Internet accounts and personal property, according to the affidavit. 

Gilroy wrote that in his interview with Stephens, the man estimated "at least '12'" other people had access to his YouTube account, and that at one point the video had somewhere around "140 views." Gilroy also discovered during his investigation at least one individual posted on Stephens' Facebook profile to make comments about watching the video, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit also states Stephens allegedly admitted ownership of the video during an interview with Gilroy and said, "I know I am going to prison."

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