the Christopher Handley trials

[the_ultimate_evil]

‘Obscene’ U.S. Manga Collector Jailed 6 Months

* By David Kravets Email Author
* February 12, 2010 |
* 5:14 pm |
* Categories: Censorship, porn
*

picture-1A U.S. comic book collector is being sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to importing and possessing Japanese manga books depicting illustrations of child sex and bestiality.

Christopher Handley was sentenced in Iowa on Thursday, (.pdf) almost a year after pleading guilty to charges of possessing “obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children.”

The 40-year-old was charged under the 2003 Protect Act, which outlaws cartoons, drawings, sculptures or paintings depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and which lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Handley was the nation’s first to be convicted under that law for possessing cartoon art, without any evidence that he also collected or viewed genuine child pornography.

Without a plea deal with federal authorities, he faced a maximum 15-year sentence.

Comic fans were outraged, saying jailing someone over manga does not protect children from sexual abuse. “I’d say the anime community’s reaction to this, since day one, has been almost exclusively one of support for Handley and disgust with the U.S. courts and legal system,” Christopher MacDonald, editor of Anime News Network, said in an e-mail.

Congress passed the Protect Act after the Supreme Court struck down a broader law prohibiting any visual depictions of minors engaged in sexual activity, including computer-generated imagery and other fakes. The high court ruled that the ban was too broad, and could cover legitimate speech, including Hollywood productions.

In response, the Protect Act narrows the prohibition to cover only depictions that the defendant’s community would consider “obscene.”

The case began in 2006, when customs officials intercepted and opened a package from Japan addressed to Handley. Seven books of manga inside contained cartoon drawings of minors engaged in sexually explicit acts and bestiality.

Photo: EverJean

The Anime News Network says the seven books are:

* Mikansei Seifuku Shōjo (Unfinished School Girl) by Yuki Tamachi (LE Comics)
* I [Heart] Doll by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)
* Kemono for ESSENTIAL 3 (THE ANIMAL SEX ANTHOLOGY Vol.3) by Masato Tsukimori et al (Izumi Comics)
* Otonari Kazoku (Neighboring House Family) by Nekogen (MD Comics)
* Eromon by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)
* Kono Man_ ga Sugoi! (This Man_ is Awesome!) by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)
* Hina Meikyū (Doll Labyrinth) by Makafusigi (Seraphim Comics)

i'm not a manga fan and like 99.9% of the world believe child porn is on of the most vile things ever but with the results of this and the news that a lot of import companies are now going to censor the majority of Japanese anime

what are your thoughts, are they right or is it authority overstepping they're boundaries.

 

[ComicChick]

i have never been a big anime/manga fan. and honestly the first thoughts that come to mind when people bring it up are inappropriate and sexual connotations in imagery. and tentacles :

 

[Anubis]

Probably gonna have to register as a Sex Offender as well. Heh, oh well. Shoulda f**king knew better. You can't even buy regular porn in some of those states in the bible belt, much less cartoon child pornography.

 

[Majic Walrus]

The point is that cartoon child pornography is a victimless crime and as such should not be illegal, however neither should prostitution, marijuana, and gambling but if you commit those crimes you still go to jail.

 

[ComicChick]

picture-1A U.S. comic book collector is being sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to importing and possessing Japanese manga books depicting illustrations of child sex and bestiality.

this is the problem, not that it's porn?

 

[Majic Walrus]

Yes. Pornography is legal in Iowa generally. However any depiction of underage sexual activity is illegal in the united states regardless of whether or not children or underage persons are actually in the material all that matters is their depiction.

So for instance if there were some pornography on your computer of Elroy and Astro from the Jestons going at it you would be held to the same laws as Handley was.

 

[KevanG]

Child porn in any shape or form should be illegal. Beastiality um... I don't really have a response for that one

 

[Addendum]

If children aren't involved in the making of it, I don't see the problem with drawings of it

 

[Scourge2099]

This is exactly why I don't look at porn any more. People are acting like pedophiles and child molesters are something that just showed up. They've been around for a pretty long time.

 

[Majic Walrus]

You don't look at porn because you were arrested for having obscene illegal pornography depicting underage persons in lewd or sexual activities of either a drawn or otherwise created or fabricated fashion?

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

As disgusting as this material is described to be, it was drawings, not actual children, of underage sexual situations, thus I do not believe that he should be put in jail.

It's like jailing somebody for the murder of a child, because they watched a television show in which a child was killed.

 

[GhostPoet]

I'm fine with it...I think some of the material that gets imported here is so utterly disgusting. I wish women were better respected in that culture. :/

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

I'm fine with it...I think some of the material that gets imported here is so utterly disgusting. I wish women were better respected in that culture. :/

So does the 1st amendment only apply when you don't find something disgusting?

 

[Scourge2099]

You don't look at porn because you were arrested for having obscene illegal pornography depicting underage persons in lewd or sexual activities of either a drawn or otherwise created or fabricated fashion?

I don't look at porn anymore because you can click on a link on any porn site and it could take you to a child porn site that some *****e bag decided to put on there for s***s and giggles. That alone could get you labeled as a pedophile if the FBI is looking at that site.

 

[Anubis]

That depends entirely upon where you get your porn.

 

[Scourge2099]

That depends entirely upon where you get your porn.

It happened to my buddy once. He was downloading porn from Limewire and accidently downloaded some childporn. Now he has to register where ever he goes.

 

[Anubis]

That's why you don't DL porn from Limewire, or any other file sharing service. You have no idea what you're getting until you actually get it.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

Probably gonna have to register as a Sex Offender as well. Heh, oh well. Shoulda f**king knew better. You can't even buy regular porn in some of those states in the bible belt, much less cartoon child pornography.

it's been stated that he wont have to.

one of the main problems i have with this and manga in general in 95% of the books due to the way the characters are drawn its quite hard to tell what everyone is.

 

[Majic Walrus]

I don't look at porn anymore because you can click on a link on any porn site and it could take you to a child porn site that some *****e bag decided to put on there for s***s and giggles. That alone could get you labeled as a pedophile if the FBI is looking at that site.

That has to be a completely unique occurrence unless you're seeking out child pornography or visiting only porn sites that end in .ru.

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

http://marzgurl.wordpress.com/2010/03/10/anime-news-editorial-censoring-in-anime/

a video that talks about the subject, this is where i first heard about it


the more i think about this whole thing, the more i'm glad i never got into the whole anime thing growing up i never really seen the appeal (only ever watched street fighter or guyver) and if this is where it's going in trying to attract it's audience its quite sad

 

[katie_girl09]

Well, if you got to jail for watching child porn, how is collecting manga with child porn in it any different?

 

[Majic Walrus]

The number of children involved in the activity.

 

[katie_girl09]

It's such a sensitive issue. I don't blame the government for not even wanting to allow depictions of it.

 

[Majic Walrus]

Well I can't say that I mind that much either, but the principles remain.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

It's such a sensitive issue. I don't blame the government for not even wanting to allow depictions of it.

It's like I said, it's a slippery slope. Where does it end?

If people can be sentenced to jail for looking at drawings of child sex, then how long before people are arrested for murder for watching a TV show that involves a kid getting murdered?

Government is blurring the lines between fantasy and reality by doing this.

On another note, talking about this subject with my friend earlier, I think I got his fiance pissed off at me. We started talking about different political subjects, ranging from this topic, to abortion, and apparently she thought I called her a racist because I criticized the tea parties.