Two men who sent millions of unsolicited e-mail messages containing hardcore pornographic images have been convicted under the federal Can-Spam Act. They face up to 30 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines, Information Week reported.
Jeffrey Kilbride of Venice, Calif., and James Schaffer of Paradise Valley, Ariz., were convicted on eight counts, including conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and transportation of obscene material.
During the June trial, prosecutors said the men made more than $2 million by sending pornographic spam. Each time someone followed a link to a Web site, Kilbride and Schaffer received a commission.
Alice Fisher, assistant attorney general, said the prosecution was the first of its kind.
"Through their international spamming operation, these defendants made millions of dollars by sending unwanted, sexually explicit e-mails to hundreds of thousands of innocent people – including families and children," she said. "This prosecution demonstrates the Department of Justice's commitment to protect American families from receiving unsolicited spam e-mail."
Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media and sexuality at Focus on the Family Action, called the conviction long overdue.
"The Justice Department was able to get a conviction not only on spamming offenses, but on the transmission of illegal hardcore pornography," Weiss said. "That is key – because the Justice Department has seemed reluctant to prosecute adult hardcore pornography in the past, and this inaction has led people to believe such material is legal."
While this was a crucial conviction against two notorious porn spammers, he said, there are many more to hunt down and prosecute.
"I hope the Justice Department savors this win and quickly gains dozens more," Weiss added.
