Christopher Handley pled guilty to the charges placed against him.
He will face 15 years in prison, for RECEIVING and not even READING a magazine filled with PURELY FICTIONAL DRAWINGS the government considers obscene.
Freedom is dead in America, the law under which Handley was charged is so broad that Romeo and Juliet would be considered elicit material. It depicts sex between to minors.
With this new ruling, ANYONE who reads ANY FOR OF MEDIA that depicts ANY SORT OF SEXUAL CONTACT that involve minors, be it Literature, Comics, Manga, Film, Television, Music, Theatre, or otherwise IS GUILTY OF A CRIME PUNISHABLE BY 16 YEARS OF JAIL.
You are already all criminal scum. Turn yourself in now.
Freedom has died in America.
Update
Apparently some of you are stupid, and did not read my previous piece.
Under US law anyone under the age of 18 is a child. Therefore any drawing involving someone under the age of 18 involved in sex is "Sexual Molestation."
Be the fictional character considered 15,16, or 17.
Furthermore it is up to the Court to decide WHAT is considered a child in art form.
The character could look fully like a adult, yet one single text refers to it as 17 or 16. And the art is illegal.
The character could look like a child or teenager, yet one single text refers to them as 20. That art would be legal, but if the judge decides it could be considered illegal.
It doesn't help any that women in Japan are obsessed with looking like teenagers, and have on average, very small breasts, making most of them look physically like children, as there is no ability to dinstiguish between the ages based on physical qualities.
As I said in the Journal on the previous topic, the only way to distinguish is left to pubic hair which is BANNED from being portrayed in Japan. As a result, NO ONE IN PORN OR IN DRAWINGS HAS PUBIC HAIR AND IF THEY HAVE IT IT IS CENSORED.
To end, THERE IS NO WAY TO DETERMINE THE AGE OF A JAPANESE DRAWING.
That simple. IT IS A DRAWING, NOT A REAL PERSON.
If you attempt to arrest someone for drawing a fictional entity involved in sex for child porn, then you could arrest someone for drawing a fictional entity being killed for murder.
update 2
Furthermore, some of you misunderstand the charge. Poor Handley was NEVER charged with possession. The United States Goverment has never been able to charge people just for possesion of Obscenity. He was charged with IMPORTING it, for passing it across state lines. That was the only way that the courts were able to try him with at least some kind of substance. And even then they were standing on legally shaky ground.
The fact that people like Neil Gaiman and the Comic Book Defense League came to the defense of this arrest of a avid Collector, who had over 10,000 comic books, dvds, books, etc.; because he was arrested for a collection of no more than 15 images reveals how important this case was and how wrong the court was for even getting involved.