Marc John Collins-Rector (born October 16, 1959) is an American businessman, convicted

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...

, known for founding Digital Entertainment Network, an online

streaming video Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

broadcaster and notable dot-com failure, as well as his associations with

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and media figures. His

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

conviction is highlighted in the 2014 documentary '' An Open Secret''.

Early life

Collins-Rector was born Mark John Rector. He changed his name to Marc Collins-Rector in 1998. In the early 1980s, Rector founded Telequest, a

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

-based

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...

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 The Vancouver Stock Exchange (VSE) was a stock exchange based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was incorporated 1906. On November 29, 1999 the VSE was merged into the Canadian Venture Exchange (CDNX). History It was incorporated 1906 and was t ...

in 1987. Its valuation briefly peaked at $100 million before increasing competition led to bankruptcy. Rector later founded an early

ISP An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise privatel ...

; Concentric Network, in 1991 along with partner Chad Shackley.

DEN founding

Rector and Shackley sold Concentric in 1995 and, using money raised from the sale, as well as close to $100million of investor and venture capital, formed an early

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

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 Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a des ...

them with drugs and guns.

Child enticement conviction

Collins-Rector and his business partners, Chad Shackley and

Brock Pierce Brock Jeffrey Pierce (born November 14, 1981) is an American entrepreneur known primarily for his work in the cryptocurrency industry. As a child actor, he starred in Disney films ''The Mighty Ducks'' (1992), '' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' (1994), and ...

, operated DEN out of a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

mansion. There, they held parties attended by Hollywood's

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

A-list An A-list actor is a major movie star, or one of the most bankable actors in a film industry. The A-list is part of a larger guide called ''The Hot List'', which ranks the bankability of 1,400 movie actors worldwide, and has become an industr ...

. At those parties, Collins-Rector and others were alleged to have engaged in sexual assaults against teenaged boys. 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. After his indictment, Collins-Rector fled to Spain together with Shackley and Pierce.

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

arrested the three men on May 17, 2002, in a house in the Spanish city of

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

. Shackley and Pierce were released without being criminally charged. Guns, machetes and

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

were found in the house. Collins-Rector fought

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisd ...

proceedings for two years before returning to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, where he pleaded guilty to eight charges of child enticement and registered as a

. He admitted luring five minors across state lines for sexual purposes. He received credit for time that he had served in a Spanish jail and was registered as a sex offender under a weekly supervision. In 2006, a U.S. District Court granted Collins-Rector special permission to go to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to receive treatment for a

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secon ...

. He subsequently renounced his US citizenship and has never returned to the United States.''An Open Secret'', 2014; Amy Berg. In 2007, he was photographed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and in 2008 was living in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. , he lives in a "European port city" and uses the names "Mark Collins" and "Morgan Von Phoenix".

Later career

News reports have stated that Collins-Rector was a silent partner in the

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a character (of ...

service company IGE, which was founded by ex-DEN VP

- who was chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation. IGE initially used an address in the city of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, where Collins-Rector, Shackley and Pierce shared a villa until it was raided by

in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins-Rector, Marc 1959 births American media executives American telecommunications industry businesspeople Businesspeople from Florida Fugitives wanted by the United States Fugitives wanted on sex crime charges American LGBT businesspeople American gay men Living people Gay businessmen People extradited from Spain People extradited to the United States People who renounced United States citizenship Place of birth missing (living people) Violence against men in North America