From avn.com




Jail Terms and Fines Issued For Internet Obscenity Case
By: Scott Ross
12-20-2003


BECKLEY, W.Va. - On Friday a federal judge sentenced the people behind an adult Website that sold defecation and urination videos and DVDs to jail terms, ending one of the first federal obscenity cases involving the Internet.

Michael J Corbett and his ex-wife Sharon Bates, who were married when running the site in question, had pled guilty to one count each of mailing obscene material in August.

The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge David Faber on Friday sentenced Corbett to 18 months in prison, a $30,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Bates was sentenced to 13 months in prison, a $10,000 fine and three years of probation.

The couple had run the Website GirlsPooping.com, where they sold titles such as Outdoor Pooping Paradise, which showed ten women defecating outdoors, and an enema tape called Simone’s Daddy’s Little Girl.

The Corbett’s had earned $70,000 in three months, shipping out six to 30 orders a day through the U.S. mail. GirlsPooping.com offered 53 titles.

United States Postal Service Inspectors were responsible for investigating Girlspooping.com, starting in January of this year. By March, they had enough information to obtain an indictment from a federal grand jury against everyone involved with the site.

Faber also sentenced the Webmasters for the site, Joseph Tanner and Randall Rogers, who maintained the site through their company Tdigital Services, Inc. The company shared in the profits of the Website.

Tanner will spend 13 months in prison and pay a $20,000 fine, while Rogers was sentenced to three years' probation.

Each of the charges could have led to five years in prison and fines up to $250,000.

According to the Associated Press, Faber cited both Rogers' minor role in the crime and a physical condition that confines him to a wheelchair as reasons for his lesser sentence.

Tanner and Rogers each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to mail obscene material and conspiracy to use the Internet for the purpose of sale and distribution of obscene material.

Corbett and Bates had previously forfeited $15,010 seized from their bank accounts, the domain name associated with their website, and all obscene materials and equipment used to produce or manufacture obscene materials. They also agreed to pay the United States $60,000 in lieu of forfeiting their home, which was used in the sale of obscene materials.

Joseph Tanner forfeited $80,000 and all obscene materials and equipment used to produce obscene materials.