PENSACOLA, Fla. - Clinton "Ray Guhn" McCowen, owner of Cash Titans, was sentenced Monday to four years in prison after pleading guilty in June to charges of unlawful financial transactions.
McCowen was initially charged with obscenity, racketeering and money laundering. He faced a sentenced of three to five years in prison after pleading to the money-laundering charges; the other charges were subsequently dropped.
McCowen's co-workers and co-defendants were also sentenced during Monday's proceedings in a Santa Rosa County, Florida, courtroom.
Andrew Craft, 40, was given 34 1/2 months in prison, while Kevin Patrick Stevens, 38, got 40 months in prison. Both previously pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
Before Judge Ron Swanson imposed the sentences, Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar played videos and displayed still images from the CashTitans.com paysite, claiming the site contained obscene material not protected by the Constitution based on community standards, according to the 1973 Miller Test.
"We're sorry that this happened," William McCowen, Clinton McCowen's father, told reporters outside the Santa Rosa County Courthouse. "We thought they were extreme on the punishment."
McCowen owned Ray Guhn Productions. Stevens was a producer and website technician for the company. Craft was responsible for recruiting models, finding locations for shoots, making the movies and paying the models.
McCowen also owns and operates CashTitans.com, an affiliate program.
Guhn's defense, led by adult-industry attorney Lawrence Walters, had planned to introduce publicly accessible Google search data to try to convince jurors of Pensacola residents' interest in sex-related material. However, Guhn pleaded guilty to the reduced number of charges before the July 1 trial started.
At the time, Edgar called the pleadings a major victory.
"We have this problem statewide," he told The Pensacola News Journal. "I hope prosecutors will take our lead and enforce our law."
