GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced yesterday the indictment of a Michigan couple on charges of “operating an obscenity distribution business and related offenses,” as well as alleged possession of child pornography.John Mart Messer and Deborah Messer, a couple from Brutus, MI, are named in the indictment, which was returned April 20 by a federal grand jury in Grand Rapids, MI. The indictment was unsealed yesterday following the couple’s arrest in Michigan.
John Messer is charged with one count of “engaging in the business of selling obscene matter,” one count of “mailing obscene matter,” one count of “transporting obscene matter via common carrier,” six counts of “receiving child pornography,” and one count of “possession of child pornography.” Deborah Messer is charged with a single count of “aiding and abetting the operation of a business of selling obscene matter.”
If convicted, John Messer faces maximum penalties of five years in prison on each obscenity count, 20 years for receipt of child pornography, and 10 years on the possession of child pornography count. Deborah Messer’s aiding and abetting charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.
“The indictment and arrests reflect the Justice Department’s commitment to the vigorous enforcement of obscenity laws, which is absolutely necessary if we are going to protect citizens from unlawful exposure to obscene materials,” said Brent D. Ward, director of the Justice Department’s Obscenity Prosecution Task Force.
According to the indictment, the Messers operated a business under the name “JMM Products Company,” through which they sold a variety of products, principally videotapes.
The child pornography charges involve receipt and possession of child porn downloaded from a number of child porn websites, including “one or more images” from the sites “RCP Hardcore 4,” “Devil_Dozen,” “Pedo Land,” “Kids Porn,” “Sick Child Room,” and “Forbidden Child Porn.”
The indictment also specified that John Messer possessed “a collage containing one or more image of child pornography and a black binder containing more than three images of child pornography.”
There is no indication from the indictment or the DOJ press release that the couple was engaged in distributing child pornography like that allegedly found in their possession.
According to the DOJ press release, the case is being prosecuted by Sheila Phillips of the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Delaney, chief of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
