College of William and Mary economics professor Justin Bradley May was denied bond earlier today, according to the Virginia Pilot.
May was arrested by federal agents and members of the Williamsburg police Thursday for allegedly soliciting a minor to take sexually explicit photographs of herself and e-mail the pictures to May.
“Frankly, it’s frightening. It’s frightening behavior that’s been alleged against Mr. May,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas M. Miller said, according to the Virginia Pilot.
The reports state the 34 year-old appeared in the U.S. District Court in Norfolk before being jailed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Cleveland handled the case and traced the e-mail exchange to a William and Mary e-mail address. The FBI’s Norfolk division then took over the investigation and tracked the photographs to May’s account.
Federal agent Paula Barrow’s affidavit stated the girl originally posted clothed photographs of herself on the modeling website www.talenthunter.com and received an e-mail from “Jason Marx” who claimed to have knowledge of the modeling industry. The girl informed “Jason Marx” that she was 13-years-old, and in response, “Jason Marx” directed her to e-mail an alleged model named Nikki. Nikki then convinced the girl to send nude pictures of herself over the Internet and offered to send a photographer to take modeling pictures of the girl in exchange for sex acts.
May is an associate professor in the economics department and is a graduate of Emory University and the University of Michigan where he received his Ph.D. Prior to joining the College, May spent three years as a research assistant at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
_Updated 7/8/10 at 2:12 p.m. This story is continuing to develop. Check back with flathatnews.com for more updates._