How-to book for pedophilia

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I'm guessing there is probably a lot more to this story which I don't know yet. However, here is what I have read from MSNBC.com. This guy who lives in Colorado writes a book called "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct," and starts selling it on Amazon (in Kindle format). Amazon eventually stops selling it as they found it distateful (I'm guessing).

Well along comes a Sheriff from Florida who believes that the book violates a Florida law (I'm not sure which one) and he has his department contact the guy and try to buy a bound copy. For $50 the author autographs and sends the last bound copy he has. Upon receipt of the book the Florida sheriff contacts Colorado authorities and they arrest the author pending extradition to Florida.

Now I'm reading this and I'm flabbergasted. He is being charged with distribution of obscene material depicting minors engaged in conduct harmful to minors. Assuming there aren't any nude photos of children in the book I can't figure out what grounds they have to arrest the guy. Are they saying that is illegal to write about things that are illegal?

While he is obviously creepy, and if I was a member of the local Colorado police force I would want to keep a close eye on him, isn't this protected by the first amendment? I thought it has long been determined that distasteful speech is still protected speech. It makes me wonder if the author will be able to get competent counsel as who would want to be the attorney representing this guy?

Spoiler

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Florida officials filed an obscenity charge Monday against the author of a self-published how-to guide for pedophiles that was yanked from Amazon.com last month after it generated online outrage .

Polk County sheriff's deputies arrested Philip Ray Greaves II hundreds of miles away from Florida at his home in Pueblo, Colorado, and charged him with violating Florida's obscenity law.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said his office was able to arrest Greaves on Florida charges because Greaves sold and mailed his book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct," directly to undercover Polk deputies. Judd says Greaves even signed the book.

"He very proudly sold us his personal copy," Judd told the Associated Press. "I was outraged by the content. It was clearly a manifesto on how to sexually batter children ... You just can't believe how absolutely disgusting it was."

Laurie Shorter, spokeswoman for the Pueblo County Sheriff's Department, said Greaves would be held in the county jail on the Florida charge. He was being booked Monday morning and it was unclear if he has an attorney. Judd said Greaves could be in Florida as early as Monday night.

"If he will waive extradition, it's my goal for him to eat processed turkey on Christmas Day in the Polk County Jail," Judd said.

Denver attorney David Lane, who has handled several high-profile free speech cases, said Florida could have a hard time extraditing Greaves. He is entitled to a hearing where he can argue he should not be sent there to face charges.

"The main question is whether what he's accused of in Florida would be a crime in Colorado," Lane said. "Obviously, it's not a crime in Colorado because he hasn't been arrested here."

Writs of extradition — the paperwork necessary to send somebody to another state — are routinely signed by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a former Denver district attorney. But Lane, who is not affiliated with this case, said it involves a different set of issues.

"Most of other extradition cases present clear-cut cases, the defendant was dealing drugs in that other state or some other crime that is also illegal here," Lane said.

Ritter's spokesman, Evan Dreyer, did not immediately return a message.

Greaves has no criminal record, but his self-published book of advice on how to make sexual encounters with children safe caused a flap when it showed up on Amazon in November. The book was later removed from the site.

Judd, known throughout Florida as a crusader against child predators, said he was incensed when he heard about the book and that no one had arrested Greaves for selling it.

.."What's wrong with a society that has gotten to the point that we can't arrest child pornographers and child molesters who write a book about how to rape a child?" Judd said.

The book included first-person descriptions of sexual encounters, purportedly written from a child's point of view.

Greaves argues in the book that pedophiles are misunderstood, as the word literally means to love a child. He adds that it is only a crime to act on sexual impulses toward children, and offers advice that purportedly allows pedophiles to abide by the law.

Judd said he and his detectives got Greaves to sell the book to them for $50; he sent it through the mail and told officers it was his last copy.

"If we can get jurisdiction ... we're coming after you," Judd said. "There's nothing in the world more important than our children."

Greaves is being charged with distribution of obscene material depicting minors engaged in conduct harmful to minors.

 

I'm no lawyer but it sounds like a clear case of entrapment, at least to me. Maybe one of our lawyers would know more on the details of entrapment. I don't approve much of the guy, nor his material and I'm glad Amazon decided against continuing to sell it. But as you point out, this seems like a limitation on personal liberty and an abuse of power by the Floridia government.

 

Then they should have arrested him a long time ago, it seems. Amazon sells in Floridia, Yes? Seems to me they needed something just a bit more beyond just the ordinary law to nail this guy.

 

* paedophilia

It has an 'a' in it. No need to simplify it.

 

I have a book on how to serve man in my bookcase*. It's a cookbook.


Please don't arrest me for cannibalism.



* No, I don't.

 

How about the ACLU? Freedom of speech would certainly qualify as an issue of personal liberty.

In the US of A, there is no "a" in it. Kinda like "organization" versus "organisation".

 

No 'a' in it? But 'pedophili' doesn't make sense.

 

diack.

 

You cacked up there mate

 

A lot of people are calling this entrapment, but I'm not sure how it's moreso than an undercover prostitution or drug sting. I've heard those are themselves somewhat borderline, but I think it's an established borderline, and I'm not sure how this crosses the line. Maybe it's because they asked for it in a bound format? If so, would a girl offering herself be able to claim entrapment if the undercover cop asked if she had any 'friends' willing to join? It'd make sense for the cop (more busts), but would it be illegal?