WASHINGTON, April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A producer of
allegedly obscene movies and two companies owned by him have been charged
by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., with operating an obscenity
distribution business and related offenses, Assistant Attorney General
Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.
In an indictment filed by the grand jury today, Malibu, Calif. resident
John Stagliano and two of his companies, Evil Angel Productions, Inc. and
John Stagliano, Inc., both located in Van Nuys, Calif., were charged with
three counts of using a facility of interstate commerce to sell and
distribute DVDs containing obscene films together with a movie trailer in
violation of 18 U.S.C. SS 1465; two counts of using a common carrier for
the conveyance or delivery of DVDs containing obscene films in interstate
commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. SS 1462; one count of engaging in the
business of selling or transferring an obscene film and a movie trailer in
violation of 18 U.S.C. SS 1466; one count of using an interactive computer
service to display an obscene movie trailer in a manner available to a
person under 18 years of age, in violation of 47 U.S.C. SS 223 (d); and one
count seeking forfeiture of certain assets of the defendants under 18
U.S.C. SS 1467. According to the indictment, the defendants, producers of
the films charged in the indictment, distributed the films to the public by
means of common carrier and the Internet.
If convicted, Stagliano faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison
on each of the obscenity counts charged under Title 18, United States Code,
and two years on the count charged under Title 47, United States Code. The
corporations face a maximum penalty of $500,000 in fines per count.
An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants are presumed
innocent of the charges and it is the government's burden to prove a
defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Pamela Satterfield of
the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force of the U.S. Department of Justice,
with support from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
Investigation was done by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Adult
Obscenity Squad based in the Washington, D.C. field office. The Los Angeles
Police Department also assisted in the investigation.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
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Related links:
http://www.USDOJ.gov
CONTACT:
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public
Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD, +1-202-514-1888
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