The Department of Justice (DOJ) is increasing obscenity prosecutions. In recent months, four major charges have been handed down, meaning peddlers of some of the most explicit material out there will finally see their day in court.
All are charged with interstate transportation of illegal obscene material. One indictment involves a major pornographer from Hollywood, another charges a man who was shipping porn from Ohio to Utah, and two prolific porn spammers were also charged.
Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality at Focus on the Family Action, said the prosecutions are long overdue.
“This is an encouraging trend," he said. "We’ve seen a number of obscenity indictments and prosecutions over the last couple of months. This really does stand in contrast to what’s happened for many years at the DOJ.”
Bob Peters, president of Morality in Media, said he's concerned the Justice Department is limiting itself by prosecuting only the most objectionable material.
“It can’t be limited to the most extreme types of material," he told Family News in Focus, "because, if that’s what the criteria is, the vast majority of pornographers have nothing to fear.”
Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, said what the DOJ needs to target mainstream pornography.
“If you would see one hotel chain prosecuted, one Internet company, for this regular hard-core pornography, the kind the Justice Department used to routinely prosecute, you would see real progress," he said. "The American people would appreciate that.”
