BARTOW, FL – Christopher Wilson, webmaster of NowThatsFuckedUp.com, was sentenced Friday to five years probation as part of a plea agreement Wilson accepted from prosecutors in January.In order to avoid a possible felony conviction and jail time (as well as a potential RICO prosecution, a prospect that Florida prosecutors had begun threatening him with), Wilson pleaded no contest to five misdemeanor counts of possession of obscene materials.
As another condition of the agreement, Wilson also agreed “not to engage in any Internet business which involves as its dominant theme a focus on sexual conduct or nudity.” Wilson must also pay investigative costs of $3,785 and a $500 fine.
“On behalf of Chris, I know he is relieved to have the case over with,” attorney Lawrence Walters told Lakeland-based newspaper The Ledger.
At Friday’s sentencing hearing, Wilson, who has previously served as a police officer, requested that the judge withhold adjudication (a formal finding of guilt) so that he might again pursue a career in law enforcement. Circuit Judge J. Dale Durrance, the same judge who had previously revoked Wilson’s bail (that decision was overturned on appeal), denied Wilson’s request.
Walters said that Wilson is planning to launch a website which will serve as a sort of clearinghouse for obscenity-related prosecution stories and perhaps information about his own case.
Ownership of Wilson’s site, NowThatsFuckedUp.com, is now to be transferred to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
