Is Selling People Porn Worse Than Robbing Them?

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.