Is Selling People Porn Worse Than Robbing Them?

Jacob Sullum | December 15, 2008

The Justice Department's Obscenity Prosecution Task Force proudly announces that it has obtained a 33-month prison sentence for Loren Jay Adams, an Indianapolis man who was found guilty of "transporting obscene matters through the U.S. mail" for "sale or distribution by means of interstate commerce"—a.k.a. selling consenting adults videos featuring consenting adults having sex. The story comes courtesy of Nicolas Martin, who notes that it appeared in the Indianapolis Star the day after an article about Scott Fross, a former Westfield, Indiana, police lieutenant who confessed to bribery—a.k.a. shaking down decidedly nonconsenting Hispanic motorists. Fross stole a total of $1,000 by stopping drivers and threatening to arrest them unless they gave him money. He was originally charged with several counts of armed robbery in addition to bribery, but prosecutors dropped those charges as part of a plea agreement. On Friday, Fross was sentenced to one year of "home detention" (during which he will be allowed to leave home for work and school), followed by five years of probation. Fross, his lawyer explained, had no criminal record and showed "remorse for the shakedowns." By contrast, Adams, the proprietor of Hard2Find Videos, had been convicted on state obscenity charges in 2003 and was an unrepentant smut peddler.

Comments

Jeff P|12.15.08 @ 2:03PM|#

Can one watch porn during home detention?

And when is the porn industry going to put that oft-reported one billion dollar income to work and start lobbying fiercely and loudly. AT least flood the DoJ's mailroom with sampler DVDs.

Lefiti|12.15.08 @ 2:08PM|#

Is begging for donations to keep a failing rag afloat worse than charging gullible dimwits for subcriptions?

Naga Sadow|12.15.08 @ 2:08PM|#

Jeff P,

Well between all the orgies and coke parties, there is very little time to discuss plans of lobbying Congress. Though in the scheme of things you could argue they have their priorities in the right order.

Naga Sadow|12.15.08 @ 2:09PM|#

Damn you Edward!

|12.15.08 @ 2:11PM|#

Now when they say Fross is able to leave his home detention for "work", please tell me that this is not in any capacity in which he has any type of authority (even down to mall security) over anyone else.

Naga Sadow|12.15.08 @ 2:13PM|#

I've mentioned coke parties so . . . . cue Episiarch to show up in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

Jeff P|12.15.08 @ 2:25PM|#

Naga: look, just yesterday Jennifer and I were doing lines off the pizza boy's taint when she suggested a comprehensive adult entertainment awareness campaign might be useful. I considered this while easing a cognac-filled cherry tomato into the mailman's slowly-relaxing rectum with my thumb and asked "but how could it be distributed?"
She replied, in between her squeals of delight that the sportsdesk talent from nearby ESPN had arrived for their weekly clamping, that viral videos distributed via the AVN site might be a good start.

My point is it all starts with brainstorming.

Abdul|12.15.08 @ 2:27PM|#

There's a lot to criticize with obscenity prosecutions, but it's hardly fair to compare a sentenced obtained under plea bargain to a sentence obtained via trial. We don't even know, for instance, how much discretion the judge had under the sentencing guidelines.

|12.15.08 @ 2:27PM|#

Brainstorming or taintstorming?

|12.15.08 @ 2:29PM|#

I don't recommend the latter without a full Brazilian wax.

|12.15.08 @ 2:32PM|#

I'm with Abdul, the cop shouldn't have the option to plea down his sentence.

|12.15.08 @ 2:34PM|#

Naga, I am here. I was just doing a line in the bathroom.

just yesterday Jennifer and I were doing lines off the pizza boy's taint

"Well, something tells me you probably were never half man, half horse, but hell, what do I know? All I know is, you got a great attitude. So come on, you old son of a gun, and-and let Buster do a line off your boner."

Jeff P|12.15.08 @ 2:46PM|#

I prefered Taintstorm II: Tweezerburn.

|12.15.08 @ 2:47PM|#

Jeff P,

Is this the "tainted love" of song and story?

|12.15.08 @ 2:48PM|#

it's hardly fair to compare a sentenced obtained under plea bargain to a sentence obtained via trial

Sure it is. A plea bargain sentence is agreed to by both the judge and the prosecutor. A trial sentence is sought by the prosecutor and approved by the judge.

Plenty close enough. Essentially, we have here a judge and prosecutor who all limp over multiple shakedowns by a cop, but get a big boner over putting a porn dealer in jail for nearly three years.

Warty|12.15.08 @ 2:50PM|#

Anyone who pays for porn is getting robbed. Haven't these idiots heard of puretna.com?

And speaking of taints and porn...

|12.15.08 @ 2:54PM|#

"Fross stole a total of $1,000 by stopping drivers and threatening to arrest them unless they gave him money."

Heh. So he was arrested for being a cop?

|12.15.08 @ 3:00PM|#

I hope the cop gets a visit from the "Night Man".

Jeff P|12.15.08 @ 3:02PM|#

Transnational Association of Interdisciplinary Networking and Tactics.

That's right, I'm an Agent of T.A.I.N.T.

|12.15.08 @ 3:05PM|#

Hard2Find Videos seems to be very low quality porn. I'm surprised the guy was able to stay in business. I'm quite sure his two-bit operation is what made him the target for the JD's OPT. The very last thing they want, is to go after someone with the means to defend themselves.

Speaking of which. For those of you old enough to have deja vu over a porn prosecuting Justice. I highly recommend The Government vs Erotica. Not only a great tale of a first amendment hero, but quite the libertarian as well.

Order Now and have it in time for X-Mas!

Douglas Gray|12.15.08 @ 3:08PM|#

A good sentence for Fross would be to have him pay each person he threatened about ten times as much as he asked them for.

I am a great believer in making people pay $$ for their crimes rather than serve prison time, which costs the taxpayers an arm and a leg.

Punitive financial restitution for victims is very much an under-rated deterrent.

|12.15.08 @ 3:15PM|#

"You have to pay the troll toll if you want to get into the boy's hole"

gmatts|12.15.08 @ 3:15PM|#

"AT least flood the DoJ's mailroom with sampler DVDs."

I believe that Larry Flint each month sends a complimentary issue of Hustler to ever member of Congress. When some started complaining about this, Flint threatened to sue based on his right to petition the government.

Boston|12.15.08 @ 3:38PM|#

About the industry defending itself. I am TLTG but i remember something about the some Senate committee hearing into the effects of pron, but wouldn't you know it, no one from the industry was invited.

|12.15.08 @ 3:48PM|#

We ought to have respect for the law. Then again, the law ought to be respectable. The inequity in sentencing is, I believe, to a large extent attributable to our eagerness to make so many things illegal that are none of government's proper business. When "non-crime crimes" are prosecuted, what is punished is not the harm done as result of the alleged "crime" itself, but the cheekiness of the alleged criminal in flouting the law. In other words, the true offense is not harming or endangering others, but simply having contempt for authority. Of course, THAT we cannot have! Lock 'em up and toss the key!

Somebody who is completely contemptuous of authority ought to be able to live a free life as long as he endangers or harms nobody. But the many laws we have that demand sheer obedience for arbitrary or silly reasons prevent such a thing from ever happening, except by accident -- to the eternal shame of a country founded upon rebellion from tyrannical authority.

It is absolutely outrageous that a cop who committed crimes under color of authority gets off with what is basically a wrist-slap, while someone engaged in free speech and voluntary commerce, however distasteful the subject matter, gets almost three years rooming with Bubba.

No, selling porn is not worse than actually robbing people.

T|12.15.08 @ 5:04PM|#

Somebody who is completely contemptuous of authority ought to be able to live a free life as long as he endangers or harms nobody

Yeah, I tried being completely contemptuous of authority. It got me a ticket for "disregard police officer" and a court date in January.

cunnivore|12.15.08 @ 5:09PM|#

Meh, I'm pretty sure that if the roles were reversed, and it was the cop hawking porn and the "civilian" extorting cash, the latter would still have gotten a longer sentence.

This is an issue of injustice, just not the type that you think it is.

cunnivore|12.15.08 @ 5:12PM|#

And when is the porn industry going to put that oft-reported one billion dollar income to work and start lobbying fiercely and loudly.

Lobbying only works if the people taking your bribes campaign contributions aren't deathly afraid of being associated with you. I can't think of a single member of Congress who would be willing to risk giving their opponents the opportunity to run ads linking them to Extreme Associates, for instance.

Chuck|12.15.08 @ 5:14PM|#

In other words, the true offense is not harming or endangering others, but simply having contempt for authority.

This is, of course, the one unpardonable sin. You can get away with a lot of nasty, abusive behavior towards "civilians", but if you disrespect the authoriteh of cops or judges, expect to have the book thrown at you. The worst crime anyone can commit is failure to comply with a court order, followed closely by failure to follow police orders (lawful or otherwise).

|12.15.08 @ 5:27PM|#

Porn is still illegal?

Wtf?

MAX HATS|12.15.08 @ 5:37PM|#

The WTO should bring a suit against the Justice Department for conferring an unfair trade advantage to the Czech porn industry.

|12.15.08 @ 5:49PM|#

Meh, I'm pretty sure that if the roles were reversed, and it was the cop hawking porn and the "civilian" extorting cash, the latter would still have gotten a longer sentence.

Yep.

This is an issue of injustice, just not the type that you think it is.

Two issues of injustice. Scuzzy porn sold to scuzzy people who wish to view it harms nobody. Oscenity laws* are an affront to justice and freedom.

* No children involved in the production, of course.

|12.15.08 @ 5:58PM|#

He wasn't sentenced for pornography that was between consenting adults. The obsenity charge was for bestiality - sex with animals. That's a whole different story. Seems reasonable to me.

The former policeman should have to spend some substantial time in prison.

|12.15.08 @ 8:16PM|#

He wasn't sentenced for pornography that was between consenting adults. The obsenity charge was for bestiality - sex with animals. That's a whole different story. Seems reasonable to me.

Not to me. I saw animal snuff films growing up on Michigan Sportsman. You can kill animals for their fur or for sport but you can't diddle them? Explain the morality behind that thinking.

"Ewww! It's yucky!" doesn't cut the mustard.

ABCD|12.15.08 @ 9:08PM|#

Because it is considered animal abuse.

Sort of like how you can kill a cow, but keeping it alive and intentionally in pain would be illegal.

(Unless you think sheep can give you consent....)

|12.15.08 @ 10:43PM|#

(Unless you think sheep can give you consent....)

It's rarely men and sheep. It's usually dogs or horses and women. The dogs and horses seem positively enthusiastic about it.

|12.16.08 @ 1:41AM|#

Three male Labrador Retrievers were sitting in the waiting room at the vet's when they struck up a conversation.

The black Lab turned to the chocolate Lab and said, "So why are you here?"

The chocolate Lab replied, "I'm a pisser. I pee on everything....the sofa, the curtains, the cat, the kids. But the final straw was last night when I pissed in the middle of my owner's bed."

The black Lab said, "So what is the vet going to do?" "Gonna cut my nuts off," came the reply from the chocolate Lab. "They reckon it'll calm me down."

The black Lab then turned to the yellow lab and asked, "Why are you here?"

The yellow Lab said, "I'm a digger. I dig under fences, dig up flower, sand, trees, I dig just for the hell of it. When I'm inside, I dig up the carpets. But I went over the line last night when I dug a great big hole in my owner's couch."

"So what are they going to do to you?" the black Lab inquired. "Looks like I'm losing my nuts too", the dejected yellow Lab said.

The yellow Lab then turned to the black Lab and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm a humper," the black Lab said. "I'll hump anything. I'll hump the cat, a pillow, the table, fence posts, whatever. I want to hump everything I see. Yesterday, my owner had just got out of the shower and was bending down to dry her toes, and I just couldn't help myself. I hopped on her back and started hammering away".

The yellow and chocolate Labs exchanged a sad glance and said, "So, nuts off for you too, huh?"

The black Lab said, "Nope, I'm here to get my nails clipped."

Asharak|12.16.08 @ 2:06PM|#

Lefiti | December 15, 2008, 2:08pm | #

Is begging for donations to keep a failing rag afloat worse than charging gullible dimwits for subcriptions?

Neither is any worse than frequently claiming to hate a magazine, its readers and its website, yet not being able to quit posting in the website's comments section. Not only are you a false liberal, but you're also pathetic and needy.