Federal judge bars new pornography 08/31/02 Chris Seper Plain Dealer Reporter A federal judge yesterday blocked changes that were meant to modernize Ohio's anti-pornography law for the Internet age. Judge Walter Herbert Rice in Dayton said the law was so broad that it was as likely to ban teaching of the Holocaust in schools and prohibit kids from reading National Geographic magazine as it was to protect them from online pornography and the sexual deviants who prowl the Web. The judge, who issued a temporary restraining order earlier this month, permanently barred the state from enforcing the law. Now the state must decide whether to appeal the decision, let legislators amend the law or await a final ruling from the judge later this year. Bret Crow, spokesman for the Ohio attorney general's office, said yesterday his office was still examining the ruling. He didn't know how it would limit Ohio's enforcement. Ohio's decades-old law was rewritten earlier this year to cover such things as online pornographers and sexual predators who target youths. The law made it a felony to distribute material considered "harmful to juveniles" - sex acts, repeated use of foul language, lurid details of violence and the glorifying of criminal activity - via computer, the Internet, newspapers, movies and other similar means. It was challenged by bookstore owners, a state newspaper association, and a sexual advice Web site, which said the definition of "harmful to juveniles" was too vague and that the Internet should not be included. Rice, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, didn't rule on the Internet challenge but agreed that the definition of "harmful to juveniles" was too broad and covered too many media. Mainstream movies and magazines as well as legitimate historical topics could potentially violate the law, Rice stated. Rice also said Web sites that answer sexual health questions could also be in violation. "Indeed, under Ohio statutes, it would be illegal to show (a juvenile) a copy of a National Geographic in which indigenous women are pictured naked from the waist up," Rice wrote, also noting that prohibitions of extreme violence could endanger the teaching of the Holocaust. The attorney general's office argued during the case that no one would interpret the law that broadly, and warned that Ohio youth would be at greater risk if the law was struck down. But Rice questioned whether the law would be more effective against pornographers than existing legislation. He cited testimony in which Ohio police officers had made scores of arrests by impersonating children online. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: cseper@plaind.com, 216-999-5405