A federal judge's groundbreaking award of nearly $200,000 in restitution to a teenager victimized in child porn by a corporate executive who downloaded her images may open "the floodgates" for similar victims.

That's the claim of Jonathan Einhorn, defense lawyer for Alan Hesketh, a 62-year-old former Pfizer vice president who admitted possessing nearly 2,000 images, including four of the now 19-year-old girl.

"If that's what happens, that's what happens," said Cindy Robinson, a lawyer with Tremont & Sheldon who represents people abused by Catholic priests. "These children suffer immeasurable damage."

"I hope it's true," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children in Alexandria, Va., who identified the girl's images for prosecutors. "I hope it spreads like wildfire. I hope it sends a message to those victimized that they can get help ... and creates kind of a deterrent effect that makes those think twice before downloading these images. I applaud the vision of this federal judge. I hope it is emulated."

Early Monday afternoon Senior U.S. District Judge Warren W. Eginton opened a new "frontier" when he awarded the 19-year-old woman $150,000 for her medical, psychological and counseling expenses. Never before has a judge ordered criminal restitution from a person who possessed child pornography.

Eginton added another $30,000 in legal fees and $15,500 for expert consultation to the award.

He declined to award any damages for lost income or future lost income.

"No court has been hospitable to lost income findings," Eginton ruled. "I'm not going to break that trend."

James K. Filan, a former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted child porn cases, believes the ruling could be a deterrent.

But he also fears that it could be problematic for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"They may find themselves devoting a lot of time and resources to defending against restitution appeals," said Filan, now in private practice with Pepe & Hazard, in Fairfield.

The ruling, the first of its kind in the country, comes against Hesketh, a man who downloaded, viewed and traded child pornography, but had no actual contact with any of the victims.

Since October, Hesketh, who has a doctorate in organic chemistry and a law degree, has been serving a six-and-one-half year sentence after a guilty plea to the possession charge. Pfizer fired him following his arrest last March.

"It's an unreasonable award," said Einhorn. "We are going to appeal it."

"I think that might not be a good use of the money," the judge said. "But that's my reaction to it."

Einhorn said an appropriate award would be based on whatever injuries could be proven that Hesketh's downloading and trading caused the girl. He suggested there is no proof the teenager is the girl depicted in the images.

Court documents claim the girl was victimized when she was 8 and 9 years old by a relative who photographed her at the direction of an out-of-state pedophile.

"She's not doing good," said James Marsh, her White Plains, N.Y., lawyer. "There's a long road ahead for her."

But he credited the teenager and her mother for their "fortitude and willingness to pursue this. This has been a multi, multi-year process."

Still Marsh is not convinced the ruling will result in more victims coming forward in other cases.

Allen said the National Center has identified about 2,000 children who are depicted in child pornography.

"We've watched a child grow up being sexually abused," Allen said. "The images began when she is about 4 or 5 years old and continue until her late teens. How do you restore somebody like that?"

While he said the hub of child pornography creation is in Eastern Europe, the majority of end users are Americans and western Europeans.

"Thirty percent of the children are victimized by their own parents," Allen said. "Another 10 percent are victimized by relatives and 25 percent by people who are close to the child. So 70 percent of the victimization takes place by people who have easy access to the child." ABC reporting.

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