The 64-year-old Thompson faces up to three years in prison if convicted. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
While he might not be well known in the U.S., Thompson is a giant in Europe. He’s won numerous awards, including Best New Video Series and Best Producer at Venus and is known for his extreme bukkake and swallowing films.
In May, EuroRevenue, the exclusive online licensor of John Thompson Productions content, announced that Thompson’s sold 5 million DVDs.
According to a report on Sueddeutsche.de, a news service based in south Germany, Thompson claims that his actors voluntarily participate and the “violence” is merely theatrical for the cameras — an actor playing a role like in any mainstream film. Prosecutors maintain that Thompson’s films trivialize and glorify violence and violate the dignity of the women appearing in his movies.
Prosecutors also claim that since this allegedly “violent” porn can be downloaded from the Internet that Thompson’s undermined child protection rules.
The judge has not ruled if all 30 movies cited by the prosecution for its allegedly illegal content need to be viewed in court.
