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Missouri Man Sentenced to 3 Years for 'Obscene' Comic Possession
posted on by Joanne Mertz
Missouri resident Christjan Bee was sentenced on Thursday to three years in federal prison without parole, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession of "cartoons" that depicted child pornography. The original indictment charged Bee with possession of child pornography, but was dismissed as part of Bee's agreement to plead guilty to obscenity charges in October 2012.
In August 2011, Bee's wife contacted the Monett Police Department to report that she had found child pornography on Bee's computer. Police confiscated Bee's computer and found a collection of electronic comics titled "incest comics" that "contained multiple images of minors engaging in graphic sexual intercourse with adults and other minors." Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Kelleher noted that the comics "clearly lack any literary, artistic, political or scientific value." The names of the comics have not been released.
According to United States Code, Section 1466A, it is illegal for:
Any person who ... knowingly produces, distributes, receives, or possesses with intent to distribute, a visual depiction of any kind, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that -
(1)(A) depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; and
(B) is obscene
According to ICv2, Bee was unable to afford an attorney, and did not contact the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) for assistance in the case. The CBLDF was unaware of the case until Bee had pleaded guilty.
Source: ICv2, The Monett Times
