We wrote a post a couple of years ago about being careful when traveling back to the US for a trip outside the country.
With the TRAFFIC show for Milan coming up next week, I wanted to remind all domainers that they do not have the same rights coming back into the US that they have while in the US.
So here is a bedtime story for you.
A New Yorker Carlos Simon-Timmerman, was traveling back from Venezuela when he got stopped in customs in Puerto Rico carrying a DVD called “Little Lupe the Innocent; Don’t Be Fooled By Her Baby Face” starring porn star Lupe Fuentes.
He was charged with transporting images of a minor and faced a whopping 20 years in jail.
After spending two months awaiting trial, Simon-Timmerman’s case finally went before a judge.
A customs agent and pediatrician both testified, saying the girl was absolutely underage in the video.
However, she wasn’t.
The Pornstar was actually 19 at the time the video was made.
Lupe Fuentes flew to Puerto Rico with proof of her age and all charges were dismissed.
You might want to review my earlier post on this issue before you head off outside the country.
You simply don’t have the same rights once your out of the country and coming back in that you enjoy inside the US.
Be careful.
The Child Porn/Internet Forensic issue is in need of serious legal clarification.
People have been convicted as a result of browsing otherwise lawful adult content that had a thumbnail of illegal content on a page of 500 other thumbnails. The statute is contingent on ‘knowingly’ possessing it, however, prosecutors are very adept at putting on a good show to make the case that you ‘knew’ what you were doing, even if you clearly didn’t.
This case here is yet another example of just how arbitrary, subjective and potentially flawed the ‘threshold’ is, seeing as there are 20 year old girls who are hardly more developed than a 12 year old, while there are 15 year old girls who look 24 (Traci Lords, anyone?). In this case, the performer in question was known and it could be proven she was of age, but how about when it’s a random fragment from some amateur website where the 2257 info cannot be tracked down?
Bad, bad stuff. A lot of this stuff leaves WAY too much latitude for numbers-padding ‘prosecutors’ to make cases using factual loopholes. These laws need to be tidied up to prevent some guy from getting a Child Porn charge for browsing Red Tube- because it already happens.
Check pictures at GOogle images. Only retarded pediatrician can claim it is child, she looks like an old prostitute pretending to be teenager, thats all.
…if I’m not mistaken, this court WAS under United States jurisdiction so it could have happened traveling from North Dakota to South Dakota, say if local highway patrol had found the DVD.
I’m always much more worried while in the U.S. than in Europe that the local law could lock me up for almost no reason 🙂
I guess it’s just goes to show we feel more secure within a system that is familiar to us.
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Sorry, but I believe that if there is CHANCE that the porn star/prostitute is a minor, then one should err on the side of the minor and sort it out later. We cannot be too strict when it comes to protecting children from pervs.
If a “man” can’t keep his nightstick to himself, then the predator should assume all risks associated with visiting sex workers and bar pickups.
There are too many girls being sexually exploited and used by grown men who should know better.
I don’t care if a 14-year-old girl looks 24, she is still a child, and shame on anyone who uses a child in this manner.
This troubled girl (or boy, for that matter) could be your child or grandchild.
Never forget that as you tuck your kids in at night.
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ms domainer…I wonder if you’d feel the same if you spent 2 months in prison for something that was legal.
Esa
If your traveling within the US there are rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
“We cannot be too strict when it comes to protecting children from pervs.”
Sure you can be too strict. The problem lies in that whenever some legislation mentions protecting a child from pervs/pedos no politician wants to vote against it. Can you imagine the statements, “Senator Jones voted on for child molestor rights!” This means ANY bill that is up for law WILL be passed.
What if the law allowed them to search your mom’s home, brother’s home, put in prison until proven innocent…..a presumed guilt instead of the other way around? There is no end to it.
Everything in life has to have limits or honest, law abiding citizens get trampled.
Still, that was not smart bringing the DVD back. It would have crossed my mind that someone in customs would look at this and who knows where that would lead.
@ fghfgh
“Check pictures at GOogle images. Only retarded pediatrician can claim it is child, she looks like an old prostitute pretending to be teenager, thats all.”
Actually, the performer in question has done a substantial ‘makeover’ from her earlier meme, via heavy makeup and breast implants. Prior to this, yes, she did look very, very young and was notably flat chested (look her up under her old performing name, Zuleidy)
Australia recently started raising smoke about prohibiting porn depicting women with breasts in the A cup size range- based on some ridiculous “save the children’ principle.
If you want to see how ugly this can get, Google up “Operation Ore” and “Operation Avalanche” – and that was from a long time ago.
We either legalize it and set a *firm* bar for what constitutes unlawful content (child pornography, or “obscene” content ala Max hardcore, who’s presently serving a prison term for producing otherwise lawful adult content) or we make it illegal. Right now, we’re operating in this weird gray area where cops and prosecutors can put people in prison, even if those people weren’t intending on doing anything wrong. This “we must do it for the children” nonsense is hysterics. We always screw up biggest when we’re operating hysterically.
Esa
If your traveling within the US there are rights against unreasonable search and seizure.
Umm… Puerto Rico is under US sovereignty… their courts are bound by US Supreme Court precedents, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court is basically like a state Supreme Court in the US… this same thing could have happened anywhere in the States.
“I’m always much more worried while in the U.S. than in Europe that the local law could lock me up for almost no reason”
@ Esa, I don’t blame you, they do lock up ALOT of people over there compared to in europe.
check the graph out below.
“Justice is harsher in America than in any other rich country. Between 2.3m and 2.4m Americans are behind bars, roughly one in every 100 adults.”
economist.com/node/16636027