Anime proven capable of qualifying as child porn in conviction of sexual predator

[YUPPIE]

Source (pasted):https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/new...graphy/.142215

A Virginia court upheld a guilty verdict in August against defendant Elmer Emmanuel Eychaner III on several counts, including violating the terms of his supervised release by searching for "anime child pornography."

Eychaner was forbidden from viewing any pornographic material as part of the terms of his supervised release from prison in 2016. In March 2008, following a guilty plea for possession of child pornography, Eychaner was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment and lifetime supervision. As conditions of his release, he was barred from accessing the internet without approval from his probation officer and from accessing pornographic material or any pictures of children.

However, Eychaner used his supervised computer to search for what the court describes as "anime images depicting children engaged in sexual activity," and he later confessed this to his probation officer. He also said he had thrown his hard drive down a storm drain because he claimed he was "angry at his computer," and described it as "the danger zone."

Eychaner was charged with five counts, including attempted acquisition of child pornography and attempted evidence tampering, in August 2017. The court returned guilty verdicts for four of the five counts in May 2018.

Eychaner challenged the conviction on several fronts. The defense contested the claims that there was enough evidence to say the images submitted to evidence depict "minors as opposed to youthful-looking characters," and that "the minors depicted are engaged in sexually explicit conduct." However, the court determined that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the images do portray children engaged in sexual acts.

The defendant also contested the claims that the images qualified as obscene. To provide judgment on this matter, the court used the precedent Miller v. California, which outlines a three-part test for determining if a work is obscene:

The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest
The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the material depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way
A reasonable person would find, taking the material as a whole, that it lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value
The sole witness for the defense was Dr. Kirsten Cather Fischer, author of The Art of Censorship in Postwar Japan. Fischer defined terms such as manga, anime, hentai, lolicon, shotacon, and toddlercon for the court, and provided other contextual details about manga and its history. She testified that in her opinion there can be serious value in works of lolicon, shotacon, and toddlercon, but the prosecutors challenged this view.

While the defendant claimed that the court should seek out the broader manga work to determine if the work "as a whole" had value, the prosecutors took the position that only the images searched by Eychaner need be considered. The court determined that if the images are presented online without indication that they come from a larger work, then they can be considered isolated images.

Ultimately the court determined that there was sufficient evidence to find the images obscene and upheld the conviction against Eychaner for attempted acquisition of child pornography. The court also upheld his convictions for evidence tampering and for destroying an object to impede an investigation.

However, the court did dismiss a fourth count against Eychaner. Under this count, Eychaner would have received an additional term of imprisonment for his conviction on any "felony offense involving a minor" because he was already required to register as a sex offender. The prosecutors argued this wording can refer to both actual and non-actual minors, but the court ruled that the "involving a minor" element was not met as no actual minors were involved.

Eychaner was sentenced on August 23 to a prison term of 235 months (about 20 years), with a subsequent supervised release period of five years.


Now the whole situation surrounding fiction and reality is blurred.

[Everwake]

"Eychaner was sentenced to 120 months (10 years) imprisonment and lifetime supervision."
"Eychaner was sentenced on August 23 to a prison term of 235 months (about 20 years), with a subsequent supervised release period of five years."

He'd get less time for armed robbery or manslaughter. Maybe he should try that instead. On topic, I'm not sure cartoons should be considered child pornography, seeing as the main reason child pornography is illegal is because it exploits actual children.

[Devilyaki]

Ya some of it is just child porn hiding behind the “but it’s anime it’s art” shield..

[Rendark]

If it's anime then it's not child porn because it's not real.

[NED funded]

Maybe Virginia isnt so bad after all.

[YUPPIE]

If it's anime then it's not child porn because it's not real.

then is this verdict wrong?

[Daedius]

So when will they start arresting people for murder in video games? Exact same logic...

But then again, this is the US where conservatives are prudes.

[Rendark]

then is this verdict wrong?

If he was put away just for looking at hentai then yes it is.

[Medusa Cascade]

Still think there should be studies on whether loli hentai is a gateway to the real thing or if it reduces the urge to commit paedophilic acts. But that is all I'll say as the last thread had a few people claiming I was a paedophile just for mentioning that.

[Darkeon]

Lots of Hollywood actors are about to be in trouble for make-believe crimes.

[Satelliteyears0o]

haha, rekt.

[ellieg]

So he had real child porn, got arrested, and then as part of his probation was to not look at more child porn? Then he looked at anime and got arrested again? Good, I'm fine with that.

Let's see who's gonna defend the guy previously caught with real child porn.

[derpkitteh]

So he had real child porn, got arrested, and then as part of his probation was to not look at more child porn? Then he looked at anime and got arrested again? Good, I'm fine with that.

Let's see who's gonna defend the guy previously caught with real child porn.

i will, if he was just looking at hentai.

there shouldn't be anything illegal about looking at hentai.

[ellieg]

i will, if he was just looking at hentai.

there shouldn't be anything illegal about looking at hentai.

He had real child porn to begin with. Dude has a problem. You really think him looking at lolI porn is ok?

Would you be fine if he started babysitting kids?

[Daedius]

He had real child porn to begin with. Dude has a problem. You really think him looking at lolI porn is ok?

Would you be fine if he started babysitting kids?

A murderer is found playing video games shooting people dead. Ban video games!

That's the kind of pathetic knee jerk reaction you're using. Stop the whataboutism...

[Cerilis]

He had real child porn to begin with. Dude has a problem. You really think him looking at lolI porn is ok?

Would you be fine if he started babysitting kids?

To make this analogy work, wouldn't it need to be fictional kids, or rather lolis?

[vindicatorx]

then is this verdict wrong?

You need people to spell it out?

[Eon Drache]

then is this verdict wrong?

Considering that I got an ad on the link for the Goblin Slayer manga, which depicts 14 yr old anime girls nude and in sexual acts if anime can be child porn then that site is advertising child porn, isn't it?

[Trassk]

People aroused by children should be held under the same psychologically standards as a psychopath or sociopath. If they commit a crime obviously they need to be tried for that, but if it can be discovered before such a crime is committed they have those traits, then they need to be put through psychologically assessment incase they do harm people.

In terms of it, a person who has say ocd or social withdrawal or a sexual obsession with say beach balls isn't a harm to others in their desires and psychological hindrance. A person who has a psychological need to kill if harm or have sex with non consenting entities is a harm to others waiting to happen.

[ellieg]

A murderer is found playing video games shooting people dead. Ban video games!

That's the kind of pathetic knee jerk reaction you're using.

I'm of the opinion that ppl that look at child porn and store it on their computers should be shot. Hes lucky to have gone to jail, survived, and gotten probation. Not too much to ask that he dsnt start looking at cartoon versions of raping kids.