Adam Lebowitz convicted in sex case

Friday, March 05, 2010
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By ALEX McRAE alex@newnan.com Former Grady Hospital physician Adam Wayne Lebowitz, 50, was convicted by a federal jury Thursday on one count each of producing child pornography and attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. He was found not guilty on a separate count of producing child pornography.

“His Internet screen name was Intrepid, which means fearless,” said prosecuting U.S. Attorney Richard Moultrie following the verdict announcement Thursday morning. “We are glad to say that after making stops in Boston, Trenton, Ga., and Coweta County, the Mr. Fearless traveling show is over.” One of three victims in the trial was Kenny Spurling, who was 15 and a student at East Coweta when first contacted by Lebowitz. Spurling’s decision to tell his mother, Diane, about the contact set in motion a chain of events by law enforcement that resulted in the arrest of Lebowitz on Nov. 2, 2006, in the driveway of the Spurlings’ Coweta home. “I’m just glad it’s finally over,” Diane Spurling said after the verdicts were announced. “We have lived with this and waited for this day a very long time. Everyone has been very supportive but this has been really hard, especially on my son.” After the verdict, Kenny Spurling, now an 18-year-old East Coweta graduate, said, “I’m glad he was put away. This has taken up a lot of our time and really affected our lives. Everybody has been real good about it, but I am ready to get back to my life. It’s been a while since things were normal.” Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager said, “The Coweta County Sheriff’s Office appreciates the work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and all agencies in this case. Hopefully a very long period of incarceration will follow so no one else will encounter this individual.” Lebowitz came to the attention of local law enforcement authorities on Oct. 26, 2006, shortly after he contacted Kenny Spurling on the MySpace social networking Web site. The two exchanged e-mails and instant messages. After several messages, Spurling, who is heterosexual, said he realized Lebowitz was gay. Spurling told his mother about the contact from Lebowitz, and Diane Spurling contacted the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office. An undercover investigation began that included several taped phone calls between Spurling and Lebowitz. As the computer messages and taped phone calls continued Lebowitz urged Spurling to exchange photos and meet in person. Lebowitz was arrested on Nov. 2, 2006, when he arrived at Spurling’s Coweta home planning to pick up Spurling and take him back to Lebowitz’ Decatur, Ga., residence. Lebowitz had several condoms, sexual lubricants and two sleeping bags inside his vehicle at the time of his arrest. A search warrant was executed for Lebowitz’ home where investigators found computers that contained videotaped recordings of Lebowitz having sex with two young boys. Members of the FBI’s “Safe Child Task Force” identified the victims in the video recordings and contacted them. The two victims shown on tape — one in the Boston area and another in Trenton, Ga. — said they had agreed to appear in videotaped recordings of sexual activity while they were underage. Both said Lebowitz told them the tapes would not be shown to anyone else, but the FBI investigation revealed that Lebowitz had distributed images of the sex tapes over the Internet. Count one concerned the victim from the Boston area. During trial, the victim gave contradictory evidence regarding his age at the time the tapes were made — saying one time he was 17, which made the act illegal, but later signing an affidavit prepared by a private investigator working for Lebowitz stating he was 18 and of legal age when the tape was made. Lebowitz was found not guilty on that count. Count two involved a boy from Trenton, Ga., who told Lebowitz he was underage before the two met several times for sex, including one occasion that was videotaped. Lebowitz was convicted on that count of producing child pornography. Count three, on which Lebowitz was found guilty of attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in unlawful sex acts, was the Coweta case. Following the verdict defense attorney Laura Hogue of Macon law firm Hogue & Hogue LLP said, “I appreciate the hard work the jury put into the case. I was happy for the verdict on count one but disappointed at counts two and three. “Speaking of count three, what we all know is that at least someone or maybe more than one was uncomfortable with the conviction and I think with good reason.” During the trial questions submitted to the judge indicated the jury had difficulty understanding the law and how to apply it while wrestling with a verdict on the final count. “I think that’s because in that case, [Spurling] first presented himself as a man old enough to consent [to sexual activity]. Adam Lebowitz is a man who likes younger men, not someone who was seeking children as the government suggested,” said Hogue. “I had hoped for a different outcome, but it was nice for me and Adam’s family to see how hard the jury worked to reach a verdict.” A sentencing date for Lebowitz has not yet been set by United States District Judge Richard W. Story, who heard the case at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta. Lebowitz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison up to a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on Count Two, producing child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison up to a maximum sentence of life in prison on Count Three, attempting to coerce and entice a minor to engage in unlawful sex acts. Acting United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “If not for the diligence of a mother and her son, and the quick work of county and federal law enforcement, this doctor could still be preying upon young victims. He will no longer be able to do that behind the bars of a federal prison.” The verdicts in the federal case against Lebowitz may not spell the end of his legal troubles. In addition to the federal charges just resolved, Lebowitz also faces a list of Coweta County charges, including computer child exploitation online, obscene Internet contact with a child, criminal attempt to sexually exploit a child, criminal attempt to commit statutory rape, criminal attempt to commit aggravated sodomy, criminal attempt to commit reckless conduct, criminal attempt to entice a child for indecent purposes, criminal attempt to commit aggravated child molestation and felony obstruction of an officer. Coweta County prosecutors have not yet decided a course of action following the federal convictions. Kevin McMurry, Assistant District Attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, said, “We will wait until after the federal sentences are handed down and make a decision then on how to proceed.”

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