Man Convicted of Owning Manga, Faces 15 Years

A 39 year old man from Iowa now faces a sentence of up to 15 years after pleading guilty to the possession of “obscene material” in the form of manga depicting illustrations of minors in sexual situations. Another sicko locked away where he belongs? Maybe… But as you learn how the events of his case unfolded, you may begin to worry if you’re next.

In this week’s Robot Punch!, we follow up on a story at the front lines of art versus censorship.

As reported in my previous article, Christopher Handley is a comic book collector who had imported some volumes of manga from Japan. A postal customs inspector intercepted the package, found the artwork questionable, and alerted the authorities. Hadley was arrested at his home soon after picking up his package from the post office. Once the police had placed Hadley under arrest, they proceeded to search his home, confiscating his personal collection including thousands of comics, videos, and seven computers.

Cici n'est pas une Loli.

Of his massive collection, spanning all varieties of art and stories, only 11 volumes of manga were entered into evidence. Handley was charged under the 2003 Protect Act, which outlaws any imagery of minors engaging in sexual acts. The law does not necessitate the people depicted in the imagery to exist to make it illegal.

After many months, Hadley pleaded guilty, making him the first to be convicted under this law. He faces up to 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines for possessing this manga, though he has an otherwise clean criminal record and no evidence has been found that he possessed any actual child pornography. The very least that Handley can expect is the total loss of his property (that is, his collection and computers) and 3 years of supervised release.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was tasked with providing expert experience to Hadley’s defense team. The organization was established with the mission to defend comic book artists and fans from being wrongfully stripped of their First Amendment right to free expression. The CBLDF maintains that in cases like this, a person should not be sentenced with the harshness of owning material of actual events for what are, in reality, lines on paper.

No, not one of the confiscated manga. But definitely just as relevant.

To make the case more complicated, the legal definition of what is “obscene” is broadly subjective. Who decides what is offensive and do they faithfully represent the will of the majority? Handley’s defense attorney, Eric Chase stated, “It’s probably the only law I’m aware of, if a client shows me a book or magazine or movie, and asks me if this image is illegal, I can’t tell them.” It’s also important to note that this is a federal case, paid for by our (read: “your”) tax dollars, supposedly on our behalf.

Now, whether you think Handley deserves his punishment or not, this case represents something grander than just another pervert being locked away. The entire comic book industry (not just those who deal in manga) now has to question itself on how its material may be interpreted. Some work may now never see print for fear of the same fate. If another comic book is found “obscene”, it’s not just the owner who’s in jeopardy–publishers and individual artists could be charged with distribution of profanity.

Since this is the first case resulting in a conviction, it sets some chilling examples for what future cases may come. Regarding Handley’s guilty plea, CBLDF’s Charles Brownstein said in an interview on Fanboy Radio, “A plea bargain doesn’t create legal president that’s binding, but this kind of result will possibly create a cultural precedent that we’re worried about and we just do not want to see comics come under the threat of attack in the near future.”

This case opens us up to a dangerous slippery slope toward the extremes of book burning and thought crimes. And comic books aren’t alone in this struggle; video games are under just as much heavy fire. This case is very similar to the ban of rape-based video games that was recently established in Japan, which also could risk snowballing into political witch hunts. If we can keep ourselves informed and speak out to the media and our representatives, we needn’t worry about censorship zealots rising up and succeeding where Jack Thompson may have failed.