Obscenity Trial Underway For Former Texas Police Officer

A federal obscenity trial involving a former Dallas police officer and his wife began earlier this week. The couple were indicted in March of this year on three charges of obscenity stemming from the sale of videos that depict rape. 

According to the Dallas Post, the trial began Tuesday with a jury watching one of the videos that led to the indictment of Garry and Tammy Ragsdale on three obscenity charges this spring for selling pirated adult videos. 

However, piracy is not one of the charges they are facing. The Ragsdale’s are each charged with one count of conspiracy to mail obscene material, two counts of mailing obscene material and aiding and abetting. 

While local authorities dropped the case in 1998 in anticipation of a more severe penalty from the state, Garry Gags dale was let go from his position as a patrol officer on the police force because the police chief felt that Gags dale had broken local obscenity laws.

However, the state dropped their case as well, saying that do so “was in the interest of justice.”

Then in July of 2002 the case was re-opened by request of the Department of Justice. In March of 2003 the indicment was handed down.

The Ragsdale case is the first of three recent federal obscenity cases launched this year. Fellow Texan Jon Coil and his family and a number of his associates are facing obscenity charges, as are Rob Black and Extreme.