Discovery of 'Simpsons Porn' on mans computer results in 'child porn' ruling
A man living in Sydney, Australia has received a three thousand dollar fine after pornographic images featuring child characters from the cartoon show "The Simpsons" was found on the hard drive of his computer.
The man, Alan John McEwan filed an appeal against the court's ruling that convicted him in February. The conviction was for possession of 'kiddie porn' material, and for using his PC to view child pornography. "The material found on the perpetrator's computer consisted of a number of cartoon caricatures based on the children found in the animated TV series The Simpsons," according to the judge presiding over the case.
According to court records "the images contained imagery of 'The Simpsons' children, specifically Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson, engaged in copulation and various ancilliary forms of sexual activity". Alan was convicted on both counts. He was subsequently issued a fine of three thousand Australian Dollars with the addition condition of a 'good behaviour bond'.
The subsequent appeal against the conviction was denied by the appeal court, saying that in the judge's view the presiding magistrate in the original case had correctly stated that "the word 'person' included fictional or imaginary characters" and that even though the 'performers' in the images were based on entirely fictional personas, the mere fact that the represented figures used in some respects were different to that of a normal human being, this did not imply that the aforementioned figures were not actually 'people'. He also added that the material itself could itself fuel demand for sexually explicit pornography that involves real-world children.
Each party was ordered to satisfy their own financial responsibility in terms of the costs of court, given that the issue in this case was particularly controversial.