Judge Rules Nudity not Required for Pornography

A federal judge in Salt Lake City, UT has decided that nudity is no longer required for an image to be deemed pornographic. The decision came during a case against Charles Granere and Matthew Duhamel who were facing charges of transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography in connection with operating a Web site that showed images of underage girls, as young as 9 or 10 years old, in suggestive poses and skimpy attire. U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell listened to arguments from both sides on Friday, October 7th. The defense argued that nudity must be present in order for something to be pornographic, pointing at advertising as a primary example. Assistant U.S. District Attorney Karin Fojtik argued that congress has very clearly stated that nudity does not have to be present in order for an image to be deemed pornographic. Judge Campbell did state that nudity did not have to be present in order for images to be deemed pornographic but further ruled that the decision on if the images present on the defendant’s website are pornographic should be determined by a jury.