PITTSBURGH, Sept. 28 A Pennsylvania woman who claims to be a victim of child sexual abuse could face a long prison term if she is convicted of purveying Internet pornography.
Karen Fletcher, who lives in Donora on disability payments, operated a Web site called Red Rose that featured her own writing -- lurid descriptions of children being molested and tortured. Fletcher charged users $10 to join her group -- a requirement she says she imposed because she believed it would keep children away, The New York Times reports.
Fletcher is expected to go on trial next year.
The case was brought by Mary Beth Buchanan, the U.S. attorney for Western Pennsylvania and one of the most aggressive federal prosecutors in pornography cases. The case could lead federal courts to revisit the issue of whether sexually explicit writing with no illustrations is legally pornography.
Fletcher's lawyers also say that her writing is no more explicit than some widely distributed works. They cite the novel "A Clockwork Orange," some episodes of the TV cartoon "South Park" and a novel by former White House staffer I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby that describes a 10-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by a bear.
Copyright 2007 by UPI
