Meanwhile, in the Other Federal Obscenity Trial, a Plea Bargain Has Been Reached...
As John Stagliano's obscenity trial proceeds, the prosecution of "Torture Portal" operator Barry Goldman has ended in a plea bargain.
Torture Portal operator Barry Goldman has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors over obscenity charges, XBIZ has learned.Goldman, who faces sentencing later this year before U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh in Newark, was indicted by a federal grand jury for violating 18 U.S.C. § 1461 and § 1467 for the distribution of “Torture of a Porn Store Girl,” “Defiant Crista Submits” and “Pregnant and Willing” through the mail. The videos all were mailed in 2006 and 2007.
Details of the plea were unavailable at post time, but Justice Department spokeswoman Rebecca Carmichael confirmed to XBIZ the plea and sentencing hearing for Goldman was slated Tuesday for Nov. 29.
Read Reason's 2004 story on the new war on porn.
Reason.tv on Obscenity vs. Free Expression:
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Torture portal operator? Is he a Reason contributor too?
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Sounds like a prog-rock band's name.
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Mr. Goldman should have just sold videos of Iraqi detainees being interrogated. His customers would have been just as happy, and he'd not be in trouble because everyone knows that's not torture.
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Human Pyramid Hillbilly Dominitrix!
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You think it's bad now, just wait. Between now and the end 2012, there's a huge number Option-ARM mortgages that are going to be hitting their first reset. People who were only paying interest are going to suddenly be hit with having to pay down principle too, likely pushing large numbers of them into foreclosure.
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Sorry, wrong thread...
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I think we would all agree that these prosecutions are absolutely absurd, I am curious though as to where the 'line' would or should exist, if at all. I personally think that if someone, for example, put 2 girls 1 cup on a billboard, that should perhaps be considered a criminal offense(though certainly not 37-years-in-jail-serious) Thoughts?
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