2 suburban men charged as Internet pervs

When Matthew R. Grayev allegedly sent webcam images of his exposed genitals to what he believed was a 14-year-old girl, he called the unlawful act a "fav."

Yesterday, the state attorney general's office returned the "fav" when investigators from the Child Predator Unit arrested Grayev, 30, at the Montgomery County home he shares with his parents.

Investigators also arrested a Delaware County man at home yesterday for initiating lewd, unlawful contact online with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl.

The people behind the teenage profiles that the men initiated cyber-sexual contact with were in reality undercover agents of the attorney general's office.

So when both men allegedly exposed themselves on Web cameras to what they believed were female minors, they were actually exposing themselves to the law.

Grayev, of King of Prussia, and Clifford A. Balson, 57, of Bryn Mawr, were both charged with unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communications facility. Balson remains in Delaware County Prison on $100,000 bail. Grayev was bailed out by his parents, who posted 10 percent of his $50,000 bail.

Both initiated conversations with the "girls" in Yahoo chat rooms. According to court documents, Grayev went by the screen name mattiematt10 and Balson used the screen name das_flash.

Balson, a married father of a teenage daughter, identified himself as a "male nudist from Philadelphia" with an "open cam if interested." When the undercover agent said she was 13 and had never seen a naked man before, Balson allegedly said he's been "naked in front of a lot of different people" of "all ages."

Beginning Oct. 18, the agent and Balson allegedly had several online chats, during which he exposed his genitals numerous times via a webcam. Investigators determined that Balson chatted with the "girl" on computers at his home and at his work, as a salesman at a car dealership in West Chester.

Grayev, a hotel desk clerk, allegedly initiated his chats with what he believed was a 14-year-old girl in July and continued them through September, during which time he sent her numerous videos of his genitals.

After transmitting his first lewd video to the "girl," Grayev allegedly said: "well maybe since I did this fav for you later when u get [a] phone you could do me a fav."

Grayev repeatedly requested a phone conversation with the "girl" and an agent conducted such a conversation in July. Unbeknownst to Grayev, the illicit conversation he'd been pressuring the "minor" for was recorded by authorities.

Nils Frederiksen, deputy press secretary with the attorney general's office, said that of the 48 arrests made by the Child Predator Unit this year, 36 have involved the use of webcams.

"Parents need to realize that you don't have to have a webcam of your own to receive webcam transmissions," he said.

"They're the 21st-century version of the trench coat flasher.

"Problem is, they're doing much more than opening the trench coat and running away." *