Pianist On FBI's Most Wanted List
The FBI is chalking up a sad first: the addition of a classical pianist to the Bureau's Ten Most Wanted list.
CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart reports Eric Franklin Rosser is wanted for numerous offenses against child pornography laws, including an appearance in a video tape in which he is seen having sex with an 11-year-old girl.
Rosser was indicted last March on charges of conspiring to transport, distribute, and receive videotapes, photographs and magazines containing pornography involving girls between the ages of nine and eleven.
According to the indictment, two of his victims are from Bloomington, Indiana — where Rosser lived for a decade — and a third is from Bangkok, where he lived until becoming a fugitive.
Rosser's addition to the wanted lists of both the FBI and Interpol marks a steep fall from a career which at one point saw him in the enviable position as the keyboard player for John Mellencamp's band on the 1980 album Nothin' Matters and What If It Did.
"Eric Franklin Rosser played in my band in 1979 for a very brief period of time," said Mellencamp, in a written statement. "I have not seen or spoken to him since."
Rosser, who is 48, most recently ran a music school for children in Bangkok but often returned to the U.S. to perform.
He was arrested in Bangkok in February as a result of a joint effort by FBI agents and Thai police.
He was later released on bail and has been on the run from the law ever since.
Rosser, who was born in Syracuse, is believed to have fled Thailand and could be in the U.S.
The FBI says other places Rosser might flee to include England, the Netherlands, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Andreas Stephens, chief of the FBI's Violent Crimes division, says "there have been sightings (of Rosser) outside of Thailand" within the past few months, in some cases, in Western Europe.
A reward of up to $50,000 is being offered for any information leading directly to the arrest of Rosser, who is white, 5'7", with blue eyes, and — when last seen — wore prescription glasses, had partially balding dark brown hair and weighed 145 pounds.
He is also known to use the alias Rice Sorser.
Anyone spotting the fugitive pianist is advised to take no action personally and to instead contact the FBI, if he is seen in the U.S., or the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, if he is seen elsewhere.
This is the first time a child pornographer has been put on the FBI's Most Wanted list, according to U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who says the action "will go a long way in our effort to apprehend" Rosser.
"Federal law enforcement places great priority on the fight against child pornography," Reno said.
If apprehended, Rosser could face 15 years in jail and a fine of up to $250,000 for each of the four counts of the indictment alleging conspiracy, transportation and distribution of child pornography, according to thU.S. attorney's office in Indianapolis.
The two counts of production of child pornography carry a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Rosser is the 460th person to be put on the FBI's most-wanted list, which includes accused international terrorist Osama bin Laden. Since the fugitive list began in 1950, 431 have been captured or located, 137 of them with the aid of citizens.
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