PITTSBURGH, PA - The FBI raided the home of a controversial erotic stories website owner on Friday, apparently on charges of obscenity. The website, red-rose-stories.com, posted a notice on its home page announcing the raid and warning customers that the FBI now has access to all past customer information.
“I am sorry to inform all interested parties that Red Rose Stories is a DEAD site,” read a statement posted on the website by operator Rosie. “The FBI has suceeded [sic] in closing me down. I am being charged with 'OBSCENITIES' and face charges for having posted such stories. Our stories are NOT protected speech. Please, please, be careful out there.”
The stories in question, according to the website’s announcements, include no images or videos, but describe acts of bestiality, urination, scat, BDSM, slavery, threesomes, orgies and sex with children.
According to Rosie’s post, the FBI entered her home while she was away and seized several items before leaving.
“The men in black (FBI) took ALL of my computer equipment, and many of my diskettes, and have access to ALL my files and site information,” Rosie warned on her site. “They came when I was NOT home and siezed [sic] my belongings, I had no choice, and no recourse.”
Rosie’s attorney Larry Walters, of Weston, Garrou, DeWitt and Walters, said that the FBI will have a difficult case if the raid was merely over the content of text stories.
"We're still investigating the issues associated with the raid, but at this point it does not appear that any basis exists to justify obscenity charges premised on the written stories and audio files that were the subject of the search warrant,” Walters told YNOT. “While obscenity laws are broad enough to potentially cover the written word, a conviction based solely on text, or even audio, would be an extreme uphill battle for the government in the current culture. We are hopeful that once the matter is reviewed at the next level, no further action will be taken in regards to the stories at issue."
The Red Rose raid has already set off a firestorm of opinions on adult webmaster chat boards, with some people expressing dismay that stories could fall under obscenity laws, while others stated support for the FBI in its targeting of such materials.
“Publishing pedo fantasy stories about 6 month old babies getting finger fucked is OBSCENE, is over the line, and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” posted one user on GFY.com, although YNOT has not yet been able to verify the exact nature of the targeted stories. “I have no sympathy for this site. It should not be protected as free spreech [sic]. The entire premise is to cater to the fantasies of pedos at the most debased and perverted levels imaginable. When you are writing sexually perverse stories describing pornographic acts on infants, toddlers, and children you are generating the same effeect [sic] as if you were publishing pictures of such.”
Another poster disagreed that stories can be equated to actual pictures of children being abused.
“I do not care what a story is about,” the poster wrote. “It could be as sick, perverted, evil, and downright dispicable [sic] to satan himself and it should never be considered illegal. It is a fucking story.”
The case is still under investigation, and it is unclear whether charges other than obscenity will be leveled against the site operator.
Re: Second FBI Raid This Week: Erotic Stories Website Hit, Apparently Over Obscenity
It is possible to maintain a progressive attitute toward free speech and expression as it relates to sexualy oriented material, and still be an adult about was is morally reprehensible. Sex and children don't belong together, in writing, in pictures, or in sign language.
I believe it is imperative for the adult industry to draw this line, not just in 2257 compliance, but in the attitudes it takes to the events detailed.
It's NOT 'just a fucking story', it's wrong. And it threatens legitimate teen(18+) enterprises, because the media, does not make a clear distinction when it reports on such cases. - It makes better news to generalize, and well... demonize, porn as a whole.
I believe the only way to perserve our freedoms, is to defend them responsibly.
Re: Second FBI Raid This Week: Erotic Stories Website Hit, Apparently Over Obscenity
Totally agreed. If we don't want to all be seen as monsters becuase we provide adult content to adults, then we all need to protect our industry and I don't believe that supporting stories about such material (the younger age stuff) is going to make us look any better. As far as the rest of it whatever, but the whole point of 2257 is to keep underage kids out of the porn lope and this just places them center stage. The problem is that everything is objective and opinion based. I know in this industry it is difficult, but a finite line needs to be drawn somewhere and fast.
Re: Second FBI Raid This Week: Erotic Stories Website Hit, Apparently Over Obscenity
I disagree with the poster who wrote that there's nothing wrong with child sex fantasies if they are just stories and there's no photos or videos of actual child abuse. The people who read those stories are getting off on the fantasy of children being molested and raped, and the webmasters who are writing and posting those stories know exactly what they are doing.
I don't think the feds will be able to get a conviction based on just written stories, but Rosie should give up any hope of ever seeing her computer and equipment again because they're not going to give it back.
Re: Second FBI Raid This Week: Erotic Stories Website Hit, Apparently Over Obscenity
And honestly I don't think she should get it all back.
I've been recollecting my life's umm.. adventures heh.. and writing about them for a project that will be come at a later date. I had to make the decision to not write about anything that involved me or any others in my life that where under 18 years of age. Like a void in my life I would consider it child pornography to publish it. Which kinda sucks really as those where some good times to write about. First loves and first times that mean a lot to all of us are obscene in the eyes of the feds because we where 12 when we had our first kiss or 15 the first time we.. well.. you get the picture. My project would love to include all my life but in today's world it can not and those tales will never be told.
But to comply is to comply and comply we must. So yeah,
(begin godfather sound byte)
who needs the feds charging after legitimate business persons over some pedophiles and their obsessions.
(end godfather sound byte)
Re: Second FBI Raid This Week: Erotic Stories Website Hit, Apparently Over Obscenity
Child porn is child porn no matter whether it's in form of written stories and/or depicted in photos. That is an absolute NO NO NO and disgust! The bestiality stories (in print & online) & websites need to be dismantled also.
