Phillip Greaves, the author of the "Pedophile's Guide" which caused a storm of outrage when it appeared for sale on Amazon.com earlier this year, has been arrested in Colorado.
Greaves' book, The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover's Code of Conduct, was pulled from the online retailer's site in November after provoking fury among Amazon.com customers and children's charities.
But the furore brought his case to the attention of police and the 47-year-old author was arrested in Pueblo, Colorado, yesterday on the charge of distributing obscene material depicting minors engaged in harmful conduct.
The arrest came via a Florida felony warrant, after undercover detectives from the state bought a copy of the book from Greaves through the post. Phillip Greaves. Greaves waived his right to fight extradition and was taken to Florida to face the charges of violating the state's obscenity law.
At a news conference, Sheriff Grady Judd of Florida's Poke County said the book "actually provided a how-to guide to commit sexual battery against children," with the graphic depiction of an adult having sex with underage boys.
"You cannot engage or depict children in a harmful relationship," Judd said. "There may be nothing that the other 49 states can do, but there is something that the state of Florida can do ... to make sure we prosecute Philip Greaves for his manifesto."
However it remains unclear whether Greaves' book is in fact protected under the right to free speech granted in the US constitution.
Sorry for the shitty formatting and lack of links. BBs blow for posting. First batch of text is from the Telegraph, the second batch from TIME.Greaves, who has no criminal record, writes in the book that pedophiles are misunderstood, as the word literally means to love a child. He adds that it is only a crime to act on sexual impulses toward children, and offers advice that purportedly allows pedophiles to abide by the law.
.."What's wrong with a society that has gotten to the point that we can't arrest child pornographers and child molesters who write a book about how to rape a child?" said Judd, who keeps a Bible on his desk and is known throughout Florida as a crusader against child predators.
...Judd said his undercover detectives got Greaves to mail the book to them for $50; he told officers it was his last copy."If we can get jurisdiction ... we're coming after you," Judd said. "There's nothing in the world more important than our children."
Anyway, this is an outrage! Not only does this completely shit all over the 1st Amendment but it's also a waste of state resources. I hope the ACLU gets involved on Greaves behalf. Is there anyone here who seriously thinks this guy should go to prison for writing this book?
