CONWAY, Ark. – A protester who dumped cow dung along the route wasn’t the only low at a Gay Pride parade held during June of last year in Conway, Arkansas. Two now-former radio station DJs exercised what can at best be called horribly bad judgment during the event when they gave a 16-year-old boy a gay porn DVD.Initially charged with felony distribution of obscene material and unable to have the charges against them dismissed, Phillip Beard and Christine Brown requested an audience with Circuit Court Judge Charles Clawson in hopes of pleading to lesser charges. The two were charged under Arkansas’ obscenity statute but even prosecutor H. G. Foster doubted that they would serve time for their actions.
“This is an important case,” Foster explained, “but it’s mostly important as a societal statement.”
According to the teenager, Beard had approached him while wearingly only a black swimsuit and presented him with the DVD.
“There are very few who would disagree that when it comes to distribution of explicit materials, generally as a society, we think that’s unacceptable,” Foster concluded.
Although the state has a charge for distribution of explicit materials to minors against the radio personalities, Foster felt that prosecution under the Arkansas obscenity statute was more appropriate, even though both offenses are punishable with the same penalties: fines of up to $2,000 and a maximum of five years in prison.
Jurors in the trial confessed to attorneys and the judge that setting aside personal views on obscenity might be difficult for them, leading Judge Clawson to promise instruction on what constitutes obscenity. Foster then told jurors that it was possible that actually viewing the DVD might not be necessary and, instead, looking at the cover might be enough to justify a conviction.
Ultimately, the discussion in Judge Clawson’s chambers resulted in a sentence of 24 hours of community service and a $350 fine for both Beard and Brown.
