Broadway Producer Ben Sprecher Arrested On Child Porn Charges
He has a wife of 25 years.
getty Lovers of Broadway go to shows for the music, the lighting and special effects, and the talented singers who grace the stage. And for people who don’t live in New York City, there are always touring shows that make their rounds throughout the country. We’ve also seen many Broadway musicals and plays turned into movies, like Hairspray, Mama Mia!, Rent, Phantom of the Opera, and, for some reason, Cats.
What we often don’t see is the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into writing the music, lyrics, and dialogue for these shows. And while the successful writers will forever be beloved by theater nerds, others will go down in history as completely disgraced.
For example, Ben Sprecher. Just who is Ben Sprecher? A producer who attempted to revive the musical Rebecca, but failed due to his inability to raise enough money as well as being scammed by former Long Island stockbroker Mark Hotton. Sprecher was arrested on August 13 on child pornography charges. Around 6 AM, police arrived at his townhome in Morningside Heights, and his family (yes, he has a wife of 25 years and two children!) were home.
According to court documents, Sprecher admitted he downloaded and shared the child pornography. He is accused of downloading more than 100 photos and videos.
Included was a 46-minute video of a young girl between the ages of 10 and 12, “engaging in various sex acts with an adult male.” Sprecher allegedly shared at least four of the files with an undercover agent back in June.
Said D.B. Shark, a radio host and local resident, “The police officers went inside the building, and they then brought him out. [Sprecher] had a smile on his face — probably nervous and embarrassed about what was going on. He is a pleasant guy. This is so shocking. But you never know who’s next-door.”
For other neighbors, they are completely shocked and appalled, and say the producer had previously gone around the neighborhood to collect signatures for faster internet. Said one neighbor, “For nine years, he was not even able to say ‘hello,’ and suddenly he was quite friendly. He needed to have his Internet.”
On Tuesday, a Manhattan judge banned Sprecher from using the internet, while his public-defender lawyer, Martin Cohen, said Sprecher needed his e-mail to work. The judge replied, “He doesn’t seem to be doing too much these days.” Ouch. The judge also banned him from viewing any type of pornography and to “avoid all unsupervised contact with minors.”
Prosecutors wanted Sprecher to be fitted with a monitoring device, but the judge refused and Sprecher was released on $100,000 bond, but was ordered back to court on September 12.
Aside from the Rebecca musical fiasco, Sprecher’s credits include Voices in the Dark, Fortune’s Fool, Mark Twain Tonight!, The Odd Couple, Legends, A Moon for the Misbegotten, and American Buffalo.
Samantha Maffucci is an editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.