ENFIELD, CT – Michelle Silva thought that things were starting to settle down in her life. She was getting her finances in order and had found that selling home-made bondage videos through her website provided her with the economic independence she needed to accomplish her goals. She had her professional ducks in a row and was preparing for a successful and satisfying future.In order to comply with all local laws, she possessed the appropriate business zoning permits. In order to comply with national 2257 regulations, she kept appropriate model documentation. Yet on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 16, she says that as many as 30 members of the Enfield Connecticut police force unexpectedly entered her home, repeatedly made derogatory comments about her lifestyle, and confiscated not only all of her computer and internet technology related possessions, but also every piece of bondage furniture and BDSM equipment likewise involved.
No arrests were made. So what happened?
“We can only speculate at this point,” her newly appointed attorney Daniel Silver told YNOT. “I know that they did not come in looking for child stuff – and there is no child stuff. The authorities admit that this is not a seizure for the purpose of child pornography.”
Could the seizure be related to an obscenity prosecution?
According to Silver, who was recommended to Silva by the Free Speech Coalition, there has not been an obscenity arrest in Connecticut in at least 20 years, which makes this situation all the more baffling.
Although the Enfield police department insists that it presented Silva with a search warrant, which would provide information about the reason for entering her home-based business, she insists that such is not the case. According to an email sent by Silva, the police insisted that they were “looking for something specific” and that they would present the warrant once that had been located.
Regardless of whether or not Silva was presented with a warrant, her attorney is clear about the fact that “at this point, I don’t have it. I have requested it and Ill get it, but needless to say, I’m not waiting for them to do that.”
Indeed Silver, a First Amendment attorney who exclusively represents members of the adult industry, says that “appropriate measures are in the process of being filed with the Superior Court in Connecticut seeking immediate return of all items seized.” As Silver explains, he views all confiscated items as “protected material,” which are covered by different laws from those concerning other forms of contraband.
Silver insists that nothing on Silva’s EmpressM.net website is unusual or extreme.
“I think the important thing is that it’s disturbing that in the state of Connecticut they would even bother with this type of situation because, as I indicated, there has not been an obscenity arrest in 20 years.”
