First case of child-porn cartoons (20/10/2005)

EDMONTON - An Edmonton man has been sentenced in what is believed to be the first case of cartoon child pornography to come before the courts of Canada.
Gordon Chin purchased online and downloaded off the Internet thousands of pages of explicit cartoons called anime, or Japanese animation, which contain cute characters similar to Pokemon and Astro Boy.

The anime seized from Chin’s south-side home include scenes of adults having sex with tied-up children and infants in diapers. In some cartoons, babies are raped with weapons.

“Why would anyone want to look at stuff like this?” asked Judge David Tilley after examining a sample of the anime in provincial court Wednesday.
“I don’t think this is the kind of filth that should be available to the public.”
Although it’s illegal in Canada, child porn anime is not illegal in the United States and is readily available for sale in shops in Japan, said Crown prosecutor Steve Bilodeau.

In January, customs officials at the Vancouver airport discovered 15 explicit comic books in a package from Japan, destined for Chin’s Edmonton address. While later searching Chin’s home, city police seized 63 more books and four binders containing photocopied and printed versions of explicit anime off the Internet.
Defence lawyer D’arcy Depoe said his client naively believed the cartoons were legal here.
“He was clueless about Canadian law,” Depoe said. “He now understands our law is different.”

As defined in the Criminal Code, child pornography includes “visual representation.” American law states child pornography must involve real children.
Chin, 26, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of importing child pornography. Because the anime did not involve the exploitation of real children, Tilley agreed with a joint recommendation by lawyers for a conditional sentence and 18 months probation.

Chin must also complete 100 hours of community service and is banned from owning a computer and accessing the Internet.
His name will be added to the federal sex offender registry for five years.
Bilodeau said Chin was lucky to avoid jail. As of Nov. 1, when amendments to child porn laws come into effect, anyone who imports, makes or distributes child porn faces a minimum sentence of 90 days behind bars.

Depoe said his client kept the anime to himself and did not share it with anyone.
“There’s nothing to suggest he was ever going to do anything with it other than look at it in the privacy of his own home,” he said.
Bilodeau agreed there was no evidence Chin was planning to hurt children. But people who constantly look at child porn cartoons start to think of the disturbing images as normal, he said. It can lead to collecting pornography involving real children and eventually acting out dangerous fantasies.

By: Chris Purdy
The Edmonton Journal
Thursday, October 20, 200

© The Edmonton Journal 2005
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