Maine Court Upholds Child Porn Law

January 30, 1999

Maine Court Upholds Child Porn Law

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ORTLAND, Maine -- A federal appeals court upheld a federal law that makes it illegal to possess computer images that look like children engaged in sex.
The ruling, made Thursday by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, stems from a case in Maine.

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The law targets computer technology that can be used to alter an innocent image of a child into a picture of a child engaged in a sexually explicit act. Under the law, it is illegal to possess images regardless of whether they show a real child or an altered image.
U.S. District Judge Gene Carter ruled in April that the law was unconstitutionally vague in the case against a Norway, Maine, man. He said the statute could impact lawful adult pornography.
Reversing Carter's decision, the appeals court said the law is not so vague that a consumer could not understand what type of pornography is illegal under the law.
``A jury must decide, based on the totality of the circumstances, whether a reasonable unsuspecting viewer would consider the depiction to be of an actual individual less than 18 engaged in sexual activity,'' Judge Hugh Brownes wrote for the appeals panel.
It's the first time a federal appeals court has ruled on the Child Pornography Protection Act of 1996, U.S. Attorney Jay McCloskey said Friday.
``We term it a landmark decision that brings our federal child pornography laws into the computer age,'' said Mark Terison, a federal prosecutor. ``That's what Congress was trying to do, and this opinion finds it constitutional.''
Because of Thursday's ruling, McCloskey said his office would pursue charges against David Hilton, 48, of Norway, who was charged with possession of child pornography.
Hilton characterized himself as an anti-pornography crusader and met with FBI and Customs officials on a number of occasions to discuss material that was sent to him via the Internet.
But federal officials eventually began to suspect Hilton's motives were less pure. He continued to collect the material despite warnings that it was illegal to do so, prosecutors said.
Hilton said he was not aware of the ruling and would have to talk to his lawyer.
``I'm still going to fight it,'' he said in a telephone interview. ``There's a lot to this that hasn't been made public. The fact of the matter is I'm not guilty of what they're saying.''
Hilton's lawyer did not return a message left at his office Friday evening.
The federal law was also the subject of an appeal in California after a judge ruled the law is constitutional. The defendant appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has not yet ruled.

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