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Adult Movie Producer Found Guilty In Obscenity Trial

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 6, 2008

TAMPA - This city may be known for its thriving adult entertainment industry, but a federal jury drew the line Thursday, convicting a California movie producer of 10 counts of distributing obscene materials.

Jurors were given the task of deciding whether a series of films starring a character called Max Hardcore, portrayed by Paul Little, violated the community's standards. After more than 12 hours of deliberations spanning two days, the seven-woman and five-man jury concluded that the films, with their vomiting, violence and urination, were criminally obscene.

The panel convicted defendant Little, 50, and his company, Maxworld Entertainment, of five counts each of distributing obscene materials over the Internet and through the mail. Each count carries a possible maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

"We think it is a sad day for the First Amendment," said defense attorney H. Louis Sirkin. "We believe in freedom of speech, and this is a setback."

Sirkin vowed to appeal, saying it is not unusual in cases like this for appellate courts to reach different decisions. "It's not over," he said.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew reserved decision on whether to grant a defense motion that she acquit Little on the mail charges on the grounds there was no evidence he knew his distributor would use the U.S. mail service instead of a private carrier.

After the jury's verdict, the judge denied the defense motion, saying the jury could have concluded that it was "reasonably foreseeable" that the distribution company would use the mail.

After their guilty verdicts, jurors were asked to render a ruling on whether Little should lose his California home and his Internet domain names. Jurors ordered him to surrender the domain names but ruled he could keep his house.

Little slumped in his seat and wept after that verdict was announced. On the elevator as he left the courthouse, he shook his head, saying, "At least they didn't get the house."

His attorneys would not allow Little to comment further on the verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

Jurors, who would not give their names, said the deliberations were difficult and emotional. They said deciding local community standards was a challenge. They also said they thought the law regarding the mail charges needs to be changed. They declined to elaborate, saying they plan to write a book together and will explain it there.

Sirkin said those in the adult entertainment industry are "soldiers" in the battle to protect freedom of speech. "The soldiers have been wounded," he said. "It is not a permanent injury. It's an injury we believe will be healed."

According to evidence in the trial, federal investigators in January 2006 purchased an online membership to the MaxHardcore Web site and downloaded five promotional video clips. Then, in March 2007, an undercover postal inspector bought five DVDs from the Web site, having them delivered to a post office box in Tampa.

The defense argued that the sexually explicit videos constituted political expression, showing "the politically incorrect depiction and relationship with women."

U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Edward McAndrew urged jurors to convict.

"Political speech is entitled to the highest protection under the First Amendment," he said. "Obscenity is entitled to none. They are not the same thing."

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