A federal Appeals Court has ruled that a court can bar a paroled sex offender from possessing porn.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit court of Appeals ruled Thursday that “pornographic materials – at least those that are not obscene – receive full First Amendment protection when in possession of ordinary adults, but may be regulated in the hands of parolees to a much greater extent,” in relation to the case involving Christopher J. Farrell, the New York Daily News reported.
Farrell had petitioned the court, claiming that his constitutional rights were violated when parole officers prohibited him from possessing pornographic material. He said the ban was vague in its description of what constituted pornographic material, thus creating the possibility of arbitrary enforcement.
But while the court found the term “pornography” vague, it said a book found in his possession, “Scum: True Homosexual Experiences,” was within any reasonable understanding considered pornographic. The court cited pictures in the book which is said were designed to arouse readers sexually.
Farrell had been sent to prison in 1990 after he told a court he had paid four boys ages 13 to 16 to have sex with him between November 1988 and January 1990. He was released on parole in 1994 with the condition that he could not possess pornography. But in May 1996, his parole was revoked when parole officers found the book “Scum,” on a bookcase in his home. He was then sent back to prison until Oct. 17, 1996.
