The moral of this story is if you ever get convicted for violating child porn laws, don't even think about asking to get your pictures back. Timothy Rowles, 29, of Columbus, Ohio, did and get an extra 10 months tacked on to his prison sentence.\n Rowles pleaded guilty on Jan. 21 to a single count of importing child pornography into the U.S. But even before the plea was entered, he filed two motions to force the government to return materials that had been confiscated during a raid on his house. The motions were denied.\n After that, he appealed the decision in a letter to the judge. He said the images that were taken from him were no worse than what could be found in libraries or bookstores. What is pornographic to one person may not be to another, he wrote. And, as for community standards,"I'm part of the community and if what I have doesn't bother me, why should it matter?"\n Oh, it mattered, though. U.S. District Judge George C. Smith said he was shocked that Rowles didn't see a problem with tapes and magazines of naked boys and girls in sexually explicit poses. It's inconceivable, the judge wrote,"that anyone could not realize the devastation that child pornography causes to the young boys and girls who are in the photographs."\n With that, Judge Smith last week sentenced Rowles to two years in prison, a full 10 months longer than the usual sentence. Also, Rowles was fined $4,000 and is to perform 100 hours of community service.
All models were at least 18 years old at the time of their performance. 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.
