http://www.adultfyi.com/read.php?ID=28738---------------------------------------------
Wasn't Ray Guhn's attorney Lawrence Walters just the other day making national news with his comments about a Google defense?
Pensacola, Florida- The final curtain dropped Tuesday on a multimillion-dollar adult entertainment enterprise — featuring X-rated movies shot in Pensacola and Pace — as its key players pleaded guilty in court.
Clinton Raymond McCowen, 47, of Navarre, also known as Ray Guhn, pleaded guilty to unlawful financial transactions.
McCowen will be sentenced to from three to five years in state prison.
- Andrew Craft, 40, of Pensacola, and Kevin Patrick Stevens, 38, of Pensacola each pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering. They face two to four years in state prison.
- Thomas Dwyer, 41, pleaded guilty to wholesale promotion of obscene materials.
All four men remain free on bond until their Aug. 11 sentencing hearing before Circuit Judge Ron Swanson. Each defendant left the courthouse without comment.
"Ray Guhn Productions" featured a Web site with more than 5,000 subscribers who could view films featuring group sex and other acts for $30 a month.
The company made $10 million in its five years of operation, prosecutors said.
The films were made at homes throughout Pensacola and Pace; at least five hotels in Pensacola; along Interstate 10 and Interstate 110; in wooded areas and in other public places.
Tuesday's pleas helped attorneys avoid a three-week obscenity trial that was expected to begin Monday with jury selection at the Santa Rosa County Courthouse.
Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar prosecuted the two-year-old case that began with arrests in summer 2006.
The veteran prosecutor heralded Tuesday's pleas as a major victory against obscenity in the Panhandle and the state of Florida.
"We have this problem statewide. I hope prosecutors will take our lead and enforce our law," he said.
But McCowen's attorney thought otherwise.
Altamonte Springs attorney Lawrence Walters, one of McCowen's three attorneys, is known for representing clients in the adult-entertainment industry. He said that he doesn't expect Tuesday's outcome to result in a rash of charges filed by Florida prosecutors.
"There was no finding of obscenity by a jury," Walters said. "The majority of the state attorneys in this state have come to recognize that the communities don't want publishers sent to jail for sexual expression."
To prove that material is obscene, and not protected by the First Amendment, it has to fall below the community standards. In this case, that standard is defined by the 1st Judicial Circuit of Florida.
Walters planned to present evidence of data from the Google search engine to show jurors that people in the Pensacola area aren't adverse to downloading pornography.
"We believed we could show that Pensacola had a very heavy appetite for sexual expression," Walters said.
McCowen was the owner of the company. Stevens was a producer and Web site technician. Craft was responsible for recruiting models, finding locations for shoots, making the movies and paying the models.
It's estimated that about 100 local men and women participated in the production of the material in question. Many were expected to testify at trial.
Edgar alleged that McCowen and company threw wild sex parties after the shoots and gave pain pills and cocaine to performers.
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