The owner of books that were impounded when the truck driver transporting the books was arrested on child pornography charges hasn’t been able to obtain his property from the Covington County Sheriff’s Department – even though a grand jury declined the opportunity to find the books in question obscene over six months ago.
George Hoey Morris, the self-published author of VirginBrides.net, the book in question, and Young Girls, a companion CD-ROM of photos of young girls, is seeking $10,900 for the loss of his property.
Morris' lawyer sent a copy of the settlement request to local newspapers.
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin told the Eclectic Observer that he had examined the book and the CD, and only five photos were even partially nude.
Approximately 1,000 copies of the book and 300 copies of the CD-ROM were confiscated in April of 2003 by the Covington County Sheriff's Department when they arrested Adam Sage, the driver of the truck transporting the books and CDs.
Sage was arrested in April of last year after police searched his truck after pulling him over on traffic violations. Sage faced two obscenity charges and faced a $250,000 bond. That September the jury issued a “no bill,” opting to find Sage not guilty of possessing child pornography – though Sage was fined $200 for not wearing a seatbelt and not having insurance.
Yet according to the Andalusia Star-News, the Sheriff still refuses to return the books him.Morris has indicated that if he does not obtain his books nor his money, he’ll seek punitive damages.
VirginBrides.net is a 184-page book that advises men on how to legally find underage women in foreign countries and how to marry them and legally bring them back to the United States. “This book is about virgins. Virgins are usually quite young, so it is also about young females. Scientific, cultural and legal aspects of marriage and sex with young girls are published,” Morris wrote, describing the book on his Website.
“The definition of illegal and immoral behavior differs around the world,” Morris writes elsewhere on the site. “Virginbride.net tells you where to go in order to enjoy companionship with girls of virtually any age without violating the laws or traditions.
Morris himself was never actually charged with any obscenity charges.
Morris claims to have married a 16-year-old Vietnamese girl, then four years later married a 15-year-old virgin.
Morris is a Vietnam Vet who has done a limited amount of field research for his sociology degree in Vietnam. He has been banned from returning to Vietnam, but is reportedly currently over there again.
Morris has self-published a number of books, including a book of cartoons and a book of photos he has taken during his travels.
