...that LE would approve of it if they only really knew. Most poeple, don't think of themselves as criminals, and then make the mistake of thinking this would mean LE wouldn't be the enemy. One should really shouldn't get into the sex industry, to any degree, and assume that society right now won't fight you.
/Zin
Saw this earlier on AVN
Reading the story and the thoughts of the man arrested himself, there is more to look at.
People will want to say this is the government invading our private lives etc. etc. The guy in this case wants us to believe he followed "all" the laws to make his business legitimate and not prostitution. Well... he didn't follow all the laws. He followed the ones he felt were convenient.
He mentions following the federal governments guidelines and his attorney mentions actors in mainstream movies being paid to act out sex scenes and his client is doing the same thing. Well that's not the case... why? Because this man didn't follow the state laws and local ordinances with his operation. To show he is a "film" company and not a prostitution ring, he needs to have filming permits and credentials to show he is a film company. Model releases, contracts, production scripts, W2 forms... they mean nothing... its the permits, state licenses that are required. Neither of these are mentioned in either article.
The defense of "we're making a movie" isn't as easy as it seems. If I recall, the only state whose laws actually allow the production of hardcore films is the state of California.
-- Modified on 4/28/2004 6:14:37 PM
see link
-- Modified on 4/27/2004 6:23:43 PM
and he does have permits, model release forms, etc. I hooked a friend/roomate of mine up with him and although she loves doing porn, she would never in a million years become an escort due to fear of being arrested for prostitution
Yes, truly a shame, but most of the laws/restrictions governing sexual or sex-related activity are archaic, obnoxtious, religious-based, politically exploited generally anti-female expressions of uptight self rightous prigs. Having said that, however, I think "Ike" dug his own grave. He claims he knew the fake applicants were LE but he went along anyway. If he simply cancelled, LE had nothing. Furthermore, anyone, especially someone in the business that Ike is, knows [or should know] that one does not deal with LE without a layer! Ike answered questions, revealed business info and invited two LE into his studio. What did he expect would happen in Missouri?
...that LE would approve of it if they only really knew. Most poeple, don't think of themselves as criminals, and then make the mistake of thinking this would mean LE wouldn't be the enemy. One should really shouldn't get into the sex industry, to any degree, and assume that society right now won't fight you.
/Zin
permits and documents required by to run his business and has since day one. and even if he had not continued the interview with the undercovers, he would have been arrested anyways. LE does not just leave you alone and drop their case just because they can't get close enough to find out what you're doing! If they're suspecting you of cpatronizing or compelling prostitution, they are still going to bust you. And for those of you that don't know, permits are not even required in some parts of Missouri, yet he still has permits and required documents required by law, instead of just shooting films only in the areas that do not require permits.
Unless you know him or know Missouri law, you shouldn't be so quick to judge him especially when he hasn't even been convicted and the prosecutors are having a hard time making the charges stick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have sympathy for him. I wish I had my law degree now so I could defend him. No, I judge the law and the enforcers who subject him to this level of harassment. It is made worse from the fact that by seizing his livelihood now, (in a victimless "crime," before they've proved anything,) they've basically crippled his ability to hire a good defense attorney. And these are supposed to be the good guys? And after charges are dropped, will he get his equipment back? Without, say, the hard disks having been wiped?
Perhaps he wasn't aware of the snake pit he was about to fall into. I don't hold that against him. Most people would have no idea. He was right about saying that the fact he was an African-American made him a target. At the very least, police in St. Louis think they are better able to make charges stick when the arrest an African-American.
You see, I do know enough of Missouri law. But perhaps you meant to attach this ThomasJenkins post above?
/Zin
-- Modified on 4/28/2004 11:38:08 PM
His sales ladies were selling condoms with a free demonstration.
Sounds like a solid defense to me.
What's really unfortunate about this type of abuse is that even when he wins in court, they still will have been able to harm the guy by seizing his production equipment for so long. So we have government out there hurting people, with any sort of check in place. Not exactly what the Bill of Rights authors had in mind, is it?
While I do want LE to have the power to be able to do its REAL job, I do wish there was some sort of deterrent and personal price to pay, when they abuse their power so flagrantly. And ultimately, it was a judge (not LE) that really crossed the line. When a judge signs a warrant that authorizes the use of force against a citizen, and there isn't any serious evidence that citizen has committed any sort of crime, he is initiating a personal attack against another person. It's not something that should be taken lightly.
There needs to be a legal mechanism where people are made to answer for it, because in the moral sense, it is a CRIME. It's the kind of thing we formed government to protect AGAINST.