Marc Collins-Rector

Marc John Collins-Rector (born October 16, 1959) is an American businessman and a convicted sex offender, known for founding Digital Entertainment Network, an online streaming video broadcaster and notable dot-com failure, as well as his associations with Hollywood and media figures. His child sexual abuse conviction is highlighted in the 2014 documentary An Open Secret.

Marc Collins-Rector
Collins-Rector's mugshot, taken in 2007
Born
Mark John Rector

(1959-10-16) October 16, 1959
Other namesMark Collins
Morgan Von Phoenix
OccupationBusinessman

Early life

Collins-Rector was born Mark John Rector. He changed his name to Marc Collins-Rector in 1998.[1][2]

In the early 1980s, Rector founded Telequest, a Florida-based telecommunications company. In 1984, he founded World TravelNet, a company which electronically coordinated cruises and tours; its affiliate, World ComNet, was floated on the Vancouver Stock Exchange in 1987. Its valuation briefly peaked at $100 million before increasing competition led to bankruptcy.[1] Rector later founded an early ISP; Concentric Network,[3] in 1991[4] along with partner Chad Shackley.[5]

DEN founding
Main article: Digital Entertainment Network

Rector and Shackley sold Concentric in 1995 and, using money raised from the sale, as well as close to $100 million of investor and venture capital, formed an early Internet video media content delivery company, Digital Entertainment Network. Collins-Rector was the co-founder and chairman of DEN, which exhausted its funding following a failed IPO bid and collapsed amidst allegations of Collins-Rector having sexually abused boys, coercing them with drugs and guns.[6]

Child enticement conviction
Brock Pierce

Running DEN out of a Los Angeles mansion, Collins-Rector and his business partners—Chad Shackley and Brock Pierce—hosted lavish parties, attended by Hollywood’s gay A-list.[7] It was at those parties Collins-Rector and others allegedly sexually assaulted teenage boys.[8]

In August 2000, a New Jersey federal grand jury indicted Collins-Rector on criminal charges that he had transported minors across state lines for the purpose of having sex with them.[9] After his indictment Collins-Rector fled to Spain together with Shackley and Pierce. Interpol arrested them in May 2002 in a villa in the south Spanish beach city of Marbella. Guns, machetes and child pornography were found in the house.[8]

Collins-Rector fought extradition proceedings for two years before returning to the United States, where he pleaded guilty to eight charges of child enticement and registered as a sex offender.[10] He admitted luring five minors across state lines for sexual purposes.[11] He received credit for time that he had served in a Spanish jail and was registered as a sex offender under a weekly supervision.[11]

In 2006, a U.S. District Court granted Collins-Rector special permission to go to the United Kingdom to receive treatment for a brain tumor.[12] He subsequently renounced his US citizenship and has never returned to the United States.[13] In 2007, he was photographed in London, and in 2008 was living in the Dominican Republic.[14] As of 2014, he lives in a "European port city" and uses the names "Mark Collins" and "Morgan Von Phoenix".[7]

Later career

News reports have stated that Collins-Rector was a silent partner in the MMORPG service company IGE, which was founded by ex-DEN VP Brock Pierce - who is now chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation.[6][15] IGE initially used an address in the city of Marbella, Spain, where Collins-Rector, Shackley and Pierce shared a villa until it was raided by Interpol in 2002.[16][17]

References
  1. Menn, Joseph; Miller, Gregg (May 7, 2000). "How a Visionary Venture on the Web Unraveled". Los Angeles Times.
  2. Hall, Ellie; Medina Mora, Nicolás; Noriega, David (June 26, 2014). "Found: The Elusive Man At The Heart Of The Hollywood Sex Abuse Scandal". BuzzFeed News.
  3. "Concentric Network Corp, SEC filings". SEC Info. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  4. Grover, Ronald; Siklos, Richard (1999-11-14). "Digital Entertainment Network: Startup or Non-Starter?". BusinessWeek. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  5. Dibbell, Julian (2008-11-24). "The Decline and Fall of an Ultra-Rich Online Gaming Empire". Wired. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  6. Gorenfeld, John; Runkle, Patrick (2007-11-05). "Fast Company". Radar Online. American Media. Archived from the original on 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  7. "Found: The Elusive Man At The Heart Of The Hollywood Sex Abuse Scandal". Buzzfeed. 2014-06-26.
  8. Abramovitch, Seth. "Elijah Wood Denies Personal Knowledge of Child Sex Abuse in Hollywood (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  9. "Mystery Man At Center Of Alleged Hollywood Sex Ring Has Vanished". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  10. Edwards, Jim (April 18, 2014). "Singer Lawsuit Is Tied To Marc Collins-Rector, Infamous Child Abuser Of The Dot-Com Boom". Business Insider. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  11. "Ex-DEN executive admits transporting minors for sex". USA Today. Gannett Company. Associated Press. 2004-06-14. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  12. "From The Magazine : Radar Online". 2008-04-18. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
  13. An Open Secret, 2014; Amy Berg.
  14. Masters, Kim (April 30, 2014). "Bryan Singer Sex Abuse Case: The Troubling History Behind the Accusations". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  15. "bitcoinfoundation.org - Board Election Results Announcemen". bitcoinfoundation.org. 2014-05-09.
  16. Farrell, Nick (2002-10-10). "Dotcom founders still in Spanish jail". VNU Business Press. Archived from the original on 2005-12-17. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  17. Lynch, Stephen (2003-11-11). "A DEN OF INIQUITY ; AFTER 3-YEAR EXILE, WEB EXEC FACES PERV CHARGES". New York Post. News Corporation. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
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