There is hoopla over the convictions of those who ran the Amateur Action BBS. The actual charges involve stuff that sounded like it was intended to be distributed as child pornography. The indictment described the offensive material being destributed as follows in each count: COUNT 1: CONSPIRACY TO VIOLATE FEDERAL OBSCENITY LAWS BY DISTRIBUTING OBSCENE MATERIALS (see following) -------------------------- COUNT 2: "AA-8589.GIF" described as "SHE SUCKS HER SON'S COCK! FATHER IS FUCKING HIS DAUGHTER !" -------------------------- COUNT 3: "AA-8278.GIF" described as "FULL SCREEN VIEW! A HAIRLESS PUSSY NAILED TO A TABLE!", "AA-7153.GIF" described as "MOTHER IS WATCHING HER DAUGHTER FUCK BIG COCK! NO TITS!", "AA-8682.GIF" described as "HE MAKES HIS DAUGHTER SUCK COCK! SHE IS FISTING HER SISTER!", and "AA-11935.GIF" described as "HE FUCKS HIS DAUGHTERS HAIRLESS CUNT!" SHE FISTS HER MOTHER!" -------------------------- COUNT 4: "AA-15198.GIF" described as "BLONDE LOLITA HAS NO TITS! SUCKS HUGE COCK AND DRINKS SPERM!" ------------------------- COUNT 5: "AA-13216.GIF" described as "PUSSY PENETRATION! HORNY BRUNETTE GETS FUCKED BY A HORSE!" ------------------------- COUNT 6: "AA-13517.GIF" described as "HORNY BLONDE JACKS OFF HORSE! HORSE CUM ON HER HANDS!"', "'AA-13521.GIF" described as "CLOSE-UP! BIG HORSE COCK IN HER CUNT! HORSE CUM ON HER LEG", and "AA-16587.GIF" described as "'SHE SUCKS THICK DOG COCK! DOG SPERM ON HER LIPS AND CHIN." -------------------------- COUNT 7: "AA-17623.GIF" described as "YOUNG ASIAN HAS A THICK CLIT! DRINKS PISS FROM AN UNCUT COCK!" -------------------------- COUNT 8: . . . used an express company and common carrier, United Parcel Service (UPS), for carriage in interstate commerce from California to Tennessee an obscene video cassette tape -------------------------- COUNT 9: . . . used an express company and common carrier, United Parcel Service (UPS), for carriage in interstate commerce from California to Tennessee obscene video cassette tapes -------------------------- COUNT 10: . . . used an express company and common carrier, United Parcel Service (UPS), for carriage in interstate commerce from California to Tennessee obscene video cassette tapes -------------------------- COUNT 11: . . . shipped in interstate commerce by means of the United States Mail, visual depictions, the production of which involved the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, . . . involving (three (3) magazines, bearing titles of "Little Girls Fuck Too!", "Lolita Colour Special 6" and "Lolita Color Special 18" -------------------------- COUNT 12: FORFEITURE ALLEGATIONS involving any instrumentalities of committing crimes. The Grand Jury voted to charge the defendants with all of the above crimes. The trial jury, did not convict the defendant of the one count charging child pornography -- perhaps because it was never proved that the defendants opened it (see Count 11). Although the convictions of the defendants in the Amateur Action BBS case were not technically for violation of federal child pornography laws, if the defendant's own descriptions of their wares is correct, I think the jury might have convicted them because of the apparant inclusion of children in their materials. People do not need to feel bad about convictions of those who peddle depictions showing children in sex acts. Reasonable people may disagree about important issues. But, I do not feel protected speech or electronic communication was endangered by the defendants' shipment and sale of their described materials. ED KELLY