“It is our hope that this decision will be the first step in ending the witch hunts that have been obscenity prosecutions in the U.S.,” FSC Executive Director Diane Duke said on receiving the news.
She added, “Congratulations are in order for Stagliano’s defense team Al Gelbard, Paul Cambria, Louis Sirkin and Bob Corn-Revere — well done! Finally, FSC extends its deepest congratulations and appreciation to John and Karen, and the folks at Evil Angel for their courage and their commitment to the adult industry and our personal freedoms.”
FSC Board President Jeffrey Douglas said, “Obscenity prosecutions are a terrible mis-allocation of scarce resources and taxpayer dollars. Obscenity prosecutions are unnecessary and inappropriate when everyone has an ‘off’ switch. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.”
Reportedly, Judge Richard J. Leon called the prosecution’s evidence against Stagliano “woefully inadequate” and granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss all charges.
While the prosecution originally indicted Stagliano with eight counts of obscenity, two counts and the Internet component of one other count were dismissed yesterday after an online trailer for “Fetish Fanatic 5” was ruled inadmissible due to technical problems with the downloaded content.
The FSC also said that board member Mark Kernes has been in Washington D.C. covering the trial for trade publication AVN, alongside reporters from XBIZ, as well as several mainstream journalists.
