Lolicon prosecutions, while rare, still do happen in the US.
U.S. v. Handley
Christopher Handley, a manga collector, was arrested in 2006 after postal inspectors viewed a package of manga he ordered from Japan. After receiving his package at the post office, he was followed to his home and served with a search by federal and local police who seized his lifetime collection of manga and anime – over 1,000 of books & magazines, hundreds of DVDs, and seven computers.
Handley was a model citizen with no criminal record. He was a computer programmer who served in the U.S. Navy, was disabled, and took care of his disabled mother in her home. His passions were manga and bible study. He possessed no photographic pornography of any kind.
Handley was a collector of manga as a whole, and the vast majority of manga and images he possessed contained no fantasy representations of minors at all.
When Handley awaited trial, prosecutors did not distinguish between manga and obscene material. They prohibited him from viewing or accessing any manga or anime on the Internet, ordering anime video or written material, or engaging in Internet chat, the latter harming his ability to prepare his defense.
Handley was also forced to undergo mental health counseling.
Unlike Whorley, who was convicted for mere possession of sexual images of minors, the court in Handley found that the images must be found obscene to be convicted.
Despite this one positive development, the government assumed an aggressive posture towards Handley, and ultimately he chose to plead guilty rather than face a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison.
Court documents show that Handley had no history of criminal behavior, possessed no actual photographic pornography of any kind, and posed no danger to anyone in his community. In sentencing documents, the government argued that the mere possession of graphic manga represented a form of “sexual deviancy” that required imprisonment to be followed by psychological treatment and supervision.
Handley was sentenced to 6 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release running concurrent with five years of probation, and forfeiture of all material seized by police.
Handley was ultimately convicted for receiving and possessing obscene cartoons for possessing seven (7) books:
* 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)
Just a reminder that cartoon CP is still seen the same way as the real thing in the Jewnited States. Here's some of the book covers.
The PROTECT Act of 2003 (§1466A)
In 2003, the United States Congress passed The PROTECT Act, a sweeping anti-child pornography law that expanded prosecutorial remedies to punish child sex offenses. Unfortunately, the law also created a new crime – producing, receiving, possessing or manufacturing “obscene child pornography” of a non-photographic nature.
Child pornography is photographic evidence of a crime where an actual minor is sexually abused. “Obscene child pornography” is a new category that criminalizes a non-photographic image, such as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting” that depicts (i) a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene (§ 1466A(a)(1) and §1466A(b)(1)); or (ii) “an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (§ 1466A(a)(2) and § 1466A (b)(2)))
PROTECT is used to prosecute anime and manga.
U.S. v. Whorley
U.S. v. Whorley was the first case to test manga within the confines of the PROTECT Act.
Dwight Whorley used computers at the Virginia Employment Commission, a public resource, to download manga alleged to depict “children engaged in explicit sexual conduct with adults.” He was charged with “knowingly receiving” child pornography for printing out two cartoons, and viewing others, 19 counts in all.
In 2006, a jury found Whorley guilty for “receiving” obscene cartoons, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with a 10-year probation thereafter. His sentence was aggravated by a previous conviction for receiving actual child pornography. If this were his first offense, he would have been subject to a minimum sentence of “not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years” in prison.
Whorley was sentenced under the same guidelines governing actual child pornography.
Texas v. Castillo
The first court case against manga in the United States began in 2000.
Jesus Castillo, a clerk at Keith’s Comics, a comic book store in Dallas, TX was arrested and charged with two counts of selling obscene materials for selling manga to an undercover police officer. The police officer bought the comics, which were labeled “Not For Children” from the adults only section of the store.
The titles at issue were comic book format translations of Demon Beast Invasion: The Fallen and Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, two popular horror comics containing strong sexual content.
U.S. v. Handley
Christopher Handley, a manga collector, was arrested in 2006 after postal inspectors viewed a package of manga he ordered from Japan. After receiving his package at the post office, he was followed to his home and served with a search by federal and local police who seized his lifetime collection of manga and anime – over 1,000 of books & magazines, hundreds of DVDs, and seven computers.
Handley was a model citizen with no criminal record. He was a computer programmer who served in the U.S. Navy, was disabled, and took care of his disabled mother in her home. His passions were manga and bible study. He possessed no photographic pornography of any kind.
Handley was a collector of manga as a whole, and the vast majority of manga and images he possessed contained no fantasy representations of minors at all.
When Handley awaited trial, prosecutors did not distinguish between manga and obscene material. They prohibited him from viewing or accessing any manga or anime on the Internet, ordering anime video or written material, or engaging in Internet chat, the latter harming his ability to prepare his defense.
Handley was also forced to undergo mental health counseling.
Unlike Whorley, who was convicted for mere possession of sexual images of minors, the court in Handley found that the images must be found obscene to be convicted.
Despite this one positive development, the government assumed an aggressive posture towards Handley, and ultimately he chose to plead guilty rather than face a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in prison.
Court documents show that Handley had no history of criminal behavior, possessed no actual photographic pornography of any kind, and posed no danger to anyone in his community. In sentencing documents, the government argued that the mere possession of graphic manga represented a form of “sexual deviancy” that required imprisonment to be followed by psychological treatment and supervision.
Handley was sentenced to 6 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release running concurrent with five years of probation, and forfeiture of all material seized by police.
Handley was ultimately convicted for receiving and possessing obscene cartoons for possessing seven (7) books:
* 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)
Just a reminder that cartoon CP is still seen the same way as the real thing in the Jewnited States. Here's some of the book covers.
The PROTECT Act of 2003 (§1466A)
In 2003, the United States Congress passed The PROTECT Act, a sweeping anti-child pornography law that expanded prosecutorial remedies to punish child sex offenses. Unfortunately, the law also created a new crime – producing, receiving, possessing or manufacturing “obscene child pornography” of a non-photographic nature.
Child pornography is photographic evidence of a crime where an actual minor is sexually abused. “Obscene child pornography” is a new category that criminalizes a non-photographic image, such as “a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting” that depicts (i) a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is obscene (§ 1466A(a)(1) and §1466A(b)(1)); or (ii) “an image that is, or appears to be, of a minor engaging in graphic bestiality, sadistic or masochistic abuse, or sexual intercourse and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value (§ 1466A(a)(2) and § 1466A (b)(2)))
PROTECT is used to prosecute anime and manga.
U.S. v. Whorley
U.S. v. Whorley was the first case to test manga within the confines of the PROTECT Act.
Dwight Whorley used computers at the Virginia Employment Commission, a public resource, to download manga alleged to depict “children engaged in explicit sexual conduct with adults.” He was charged with “knowingly receiving” child pornography for printing out two cartoons, and viewing others, 19 counts in all.
In 2006, a jury found Whorley guilty for “receiving” obscene cartoons, for which he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with a 10-year probation thereafter. His sentence was aggravated by a previous conviction for receiving actual child pornography. If this were his first offense, he would have been subject to a minimum sentence of “not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years” in prison.
Whorley was sentenced under the same guidelines governing actual child pornography.
Texas v. Castillo
The first court case against manga in the United States began in 2000.
Jesus Castillo, a clerk at Keith’s Comics, a comic book store in Dallas, TX was arrested and charged with two counts of selling obscene materials for selling manga to an undercover police officer. The police officer bought the comics, which were labeled “Not For Children” from the adults only section of the store.
The titles at issue were comic book format translations of Demon Beast Invasion: The Fallen and Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, two popular horror comics containing strong sexual content.