Feds levy obscenity charges

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June 7, 2006 | Sex & Society

Feds levy obscenity charges

Can you define "obscenity"? No? Don't worry, you're not alone: American courts can't, either. That doesn't stop lawmakers from trying, however. Their latest effort involves an indictment against JM Productions and Arizona-based retailer Five Star Video for distributing by mail and Internet videos that the government has deemed obscene.

News of the indictment broke May 31 when the feds made their case public. JM Productions, along with its owner, Jeff Stewart, faces 18 counts of interstate trafficking in obscene materials for shipping "Gag Factor 15" and "18", "America Bukkake 13" and "Filthy Things 6" across state lines, according to YNOT.com. The titles, which feature women seemingly choking on dicks as they suck them and taking countless loads of cum in the face, are all available for sale in adult retail stores.

Along with Five Star Video, JM Productions stands accused of, “knowingly [using] an interactive computer service and other facilities and means of interstate and foreign commerce to sell and distribute, to a location in Northern Virginia, obscene DVDs." If convicted, the accused face financial penalties and possible imprisonment, not to mention the confiscation of their respective companies' physical and intellectual property.

In a joint statement released Monday, JM and Five Star called the charges against them "a pointless and arbitrary waste of scarce investigative, prosecutorial and judicial resources." The statement further questions federal motives, according to AVN Online, and suggests that the government has its own secret formula for identifying obscene materials to prosecute.

The trumped-up charges against JM and Five Star aren't the only oddity in this indictment. AVN Online reports that prosecutors hope to try the case a swift 58 days after filing charges -- compared to the standard 70. Seems mighty convenient, given that there's an election this fall!