Lawyer weighing options in child porn ruling

PORTLAND — A lawyer said Monday he was studying whether he could appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court a ruling that reinstated child pornography charges against his client.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of a law at the center of the case. Because of the ruling, an indictment against David Hilton, 48, of Norway will be reinstated.

Hilton’s lawyer, Peter Rodway of Portland, said Monday that he was trying to determine whether he has standing to appeal the ruling on the law’s constitutionality to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Child Pornography Protection Act of 1996 targets computer technology that can be used to alter an innocent picture of a child into a picture of a child engaged in a sexually explicit act.

Under the law, it is illegal to possess computer images of children engaging in sex, regardless of whether the images show a real child or an altered image.

Rodway said the law was invoked against his client to make it easier to prosecute him on charges of possession of child pornography that had been transmitted over the Internet.

Before he was charged, Hilton characterized himself as an anti-pornography crusader and met with FBI and customs officials to discuss material that was sent to him.

But federal officials eventually began to suspect Hilton’s motives. He was charged after he continued to collect the material despite warnings that it was illegal to do so, prosecutors said.

By invoking the new law, prosecutors do not have to prove that the pornographic images depict actual children, Rodway said.

U.S. District Judge Gene Carter ruled March 30 that the law was unconstitutionally vague and that it was overly broad. He agreed with Rodway’s claim that it could impact lawful adult pornography.

In reversing Carter’s decision, the appeals court said the statute is not so vague that a consumer could not understand what type of pornography is illegal under the law.

An anti-pornography group praised the appeals court’s decision.

Bruce Carter from the National Law Center near Washington, D.C., said it was important for Congress to tackle new computer technology used to make “synthetic” child pornography.

Images of children engaging in sexual acts, regardless whether they’re real children, are dangerous because pedophiles can used the images to attract children to them.

“It’s just as inciting to pedophiles and it’s just as enticing to children,” he said.