Christopher Handley pled guilty today to “possession of drawings of children being sexually abused,” according to this story from the Chicago Tribune.
This appears to be the official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The case began three years ago, when postal officials opened a package that was sent to Handley from Japan. According to the Tribune,
Inside the package were books containing Japanese manga drawings of minor females being sexually abused.
Additional obscene drawings of sexual abuse were seized from the 39-year-old Handley’s house.
The DOJ release is more specific:
Inside the package was obscene material, including books containing visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, specifically Japanese manga drawings of minor females being sexually abused by adult males and animals.
I believe this is the first real description of the drawings. According to the ComiPress article cited below, the charges were based on 150 to 300 images (not books—single images) out of literally thousands of books, magazines, and DVDs.
Handley pled guilty to one count of “possessing obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children” and one count of mailing obscene material. He agreed to forfeit all the property that was seized by authorities and faces up to 15 year in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
The DOJ points out that the relevant law prohibits possession of any type of visual depiction of “a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene,” even if that depiction is just a drawing.
Reactions
Background:
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund supported Handley and has background on the case here.
ComiPress recently ran this detailed article on the case. The images are NSFW and may be disturbing, and the author is a lawyer and writer who defends child pornography more vigorously than I would; nonetheless, it’s an interesting and informative article.
Neil Gaiman explains why the case is important in this essay.
What the…?
I can’t believe he pleaded guilty. I had been consulted by his attorneys, and I felt certain that even if he had been found guilty by a jury, he would eventually be acquitted on the grounds that the law is unconstitutional.
I hope we get more information about this guilty plea soon. What a setback.
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I am glad you provided the Lost Girls image.
In response to Matt’s idealistic hope that the law could have been struck down, I just want to say that there was a close to zero percent chance of that, especially in that particular courtroom, where the judge already upheld the constitutionality of the primary provision under which Handley was charged, that of receipt via an instrumentality of interstate or foreign commerce. The obscenity laws are, sadly, still accepted as valid despite their increasing irrelevance and the absurdities they generate legally, morally and intellectually. Moreover, if Handley were to be convicted for receipt of manga depicting forbidden figure drawings of nonexistent humans and other fantasy nonbeings, he would have faced a mandatory minimum sentence equal to that for receipt for child pornography – in this case, at least EIGHT YEARS in jail. The “crime” of possession, already determined not to be a crime by the sentencing judge (who ruled that provision in the law unconstitutional) has no minimum sentence. With any luck, Handley won’t be doing time. Now weigh the risks and see if you’re still disappointed. What’s “disappointing” is the reprehensible conduct of the United States government.
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