POLK COUNTY, FL – Adult webmaster Chris Wilson, who was thrust into the national spotlight after he was charged with distributing obscenity through his website NowThatsFuckedUp.com, agreed Friday to plead “no contest” to 5 of the 300 misdemeanor charges pending against him. The plea was entered Friday at 1:30 PM EST at the Polk Country Circuit Court. The remaining 295 misdemeanor changes and the single felony charge were dropped in exchange for the plea.Wilson will pay a nominal fine of $500 and be placed on probation for five years. Under the terms of the bargain, Wilson can continue to operate his adult website for an additional 90 days, but then must stay out of the adult entertainment business until his probation term has expired. Wilson can continue to offer the Iraqi war dead pictures after the initial 90 day period as long as he does not also offer adult entertainment.
Wilson’s website started out as a fairly typical “user post” adult site, displaying images and videos submitted by the users of the website. The website started to draw a lot of national attention when Wilson began offering free access to military personnel on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan – as long as they could prove that they were actively serving. Several soldiers sent in pictures of dead bodies, which were posted on the site along with the adult materials. However it was the adult content that ultimately resulted in Wilson’s arrest in October on charges of obscenity; although some have speculated that the charges may have been brought to pressure Wilson, a former police officer, over his site’s political content.
“Mr. Wilson denied any fault and maintained his innocence throughout the case, including during the plea,” Wilson’s attorney Larry Walters told YNOT. According to Walters, prosecutors were increasing the heat on Wilson just prior to the agreement, which caused Wilson to seek a resolution. “The state had threatened racketeering charges prior to the plea, and that raised the stakes for everyone. [My] client is now relieved to put this behind him, and is considering some other future opportunities,” Walters added.
In the meantime, Walters says Wilson is satisfied with the ultimate outcome of the ordeal. “We feel this is an appropriate resolution for Mr. Wilson, which now eliminates any threat of incarceration or additional charges,” Walters said.
Still to be resolved, however, is why an Appellate Court ordered Wilson released from jail after his bond was revoked last month. A Polk County judge had ordered Wilson’s bond revoked and Wilson returned to jail after Wilson continued to offer adult entertainment on his website after he posted bail on the initial obscenity charges; prosecutors argued that the continued operation of his website was a violation of the terms of his release. An Appellate Court later ordered that Wilson be immediately released, but has not yet explained that order.
“We expect the Appellate Court to still issue a ruling on why it granted the Writ of Habeas Corpus and let Wilson out of jail, which could significantly impact many legal issues relating to future internet obscenity cases,” Walters said.
