Ohio man convicted for "obscene" stories in his private journal

[Declan McCullagh]

[A followup to a cpunx thread, and a link to the statute.]

>Date: Thu, 05 Jul 2001 11:15:01 -0400
>To: politech at politechbot.com
>From: Declan McCullagh <declan at well.com>
>Subject: Ohio man convicted for "obscene" stories in his private journal
>Cc: tdoulin at dispatch.com
>
>This is an unusual case. The Ohio law -- a 1970s version of which Politech 
>member Bruce Taylor successfully defended before a federal appeals court 
>-- applies not only to dirty pictures, but also to written material:
>
>http://www.moralityinmedia.org/obsclawlinks.htm#oh
>"No person, with knowledge of the character of the material or performance 
>involved, shall do any of the following... Create, reproduce, or publish 
>any obscene material that has a minor as one of its participants or 
>portrayed observers... Buy, procure, possess, or control any obscene 
>material, that has a minor as one of its participants..."
>
>Anyone who possesses such a visual or written description -- including a 
>diary entry or an erotic story -- is guilty of a felony. That means 
>Ohioans who have on their hard drive an "obscene" text file from 
>alt.sex.stories are felons.
>
>Other coverage:
>http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-07-05/News_and_Views/Beyond_the_City/a-117267.asp
>http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/07/05/loc_tristate_a_m_report.html
>
>-Declan
>
>*********
>
>From: "Robert V. Zwink" <rzwink at microcenter.com>
>To: <declan at well.com>
>Subject: Man's journal ruled obscene
>Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 10:24:08 -0400
>Message-ID: <LBEJKGPAOONNNILOJHBMCEBBEBAA.rzwink at mail.microcenter.com>
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>
>This is possibly one for your list.  A 22-year old wrote extensively about
>his pedophile delusions in a daily personal journal.  Law enforcement found
>the journal, today he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.  Seems he should
>be in an addiction clinic not a prison.  The journal was never published.
>
>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> From The Columbus Dispatch
>http://www.dispatch.com/news/news01/july01/755632.html
>
>Man's journal ruled obscene
>
>Wednesday, July 4, 2001
>
>Tim Doulin
>Dispatch Staff Reporter
>
>Brian Dalton wrote fictitious tales of sexually abusing and torturing
>children in his private journal, intending that no one else see them, he
>said.
>
>But when his probation officer found the journal during a routine search of
>Dalton's Columbus home, prosecutors charged him with pandering obscenity
>involving a minor.
>
>In Franklin County Common Pleas Court yesterday, the 22-year-old man's
>written words cost him 10 years in prison.
>
>The case worries civil-rights lawyer Benson Wolman, who said it has
>free-speech implications.
>
>"What you're saying is somebody can't, in essence, confess their fantasy
>into a personal journal for fear they have socially unacceptable fantasies,
>then ultimately they end up getting prosecuted,'' said Wolman, former
>director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Ohio.
>
>"This is the only case that I know of where we are talking about a
>journal -- just written words. It surprises and offends me that an action
>should be brought based on a journal.''
>
>But Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien called the case a "breakthrough''
>in the battle against child pornography.
>
>[...]
>
>"This is one of the first felony cases in Franklin County that involves the
>written word -- a writing somebody created on their own,'' he said.
>
>"Even without passing it on to anyone else, he committed a felony.''
>
>[...]