To Whom it Concerns...(Part 1 from JB)

        I am a convicted felon writing this letter as a prisoner in a federal correctional institution. I'm currently serving 41 months (3 years, 5 months) for 1 count possession of child pornography. Upon my release I will have to register as a sex offender living under a lifetime of supervision, but I think I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

        My name is Johnston Blackhorse, I'm a 33 year old Navajo Native American. I was a professional animator and graphic designer for a video slot machine company in Las Vegas earning 60k a year and would often do freelance animation and design under my own name or the family signature “BLKhorse”.

        Aside from my professional and freelance animation/design work I was a small-time pornography artist drawing under the names: Rule34Rox, Bhawk and Natas_01 formerly known as Natis_01 (both pronounced nay-tis underscore zero one). To appease the demanding student loan powers that be I drew all sorts of porn using these names to supplement my income.

        As Rule34Rox I drew rule 34 porn. “Rule 34” refers to a joke list of rules concerning the internet. In this list, rule 34 of the internet states; if it exists, there is porn of it. This means I would draw pornographic parodies of existing cartoons, video games and comic book characters.

        As Bhawk I drew furry porn, meaning I drew anthropomorphic (humanized) animals and beasts having sex. Don't knock it! It helped pay my bills.

        As Natas_01/Natis_01 I drew loli (short for lolita) art which is pornographic drawings of young girls having sex or in other words, I drew child pornography art. Rest assured I never used any real children or photos of children in the production of my loli art making it completely fictional.

        I want to make it clear, I'm not in prison for my loli art (child pornography drawings). I'm in prison for possessing real child pornography. How I had come to possess real child porn is a long story so I'll attempt to make the summary as brief as possible.

        I've been drawing for as long as I can remember but developed an early fascination with pornography after being in several inappropriate situations as a child and thus began drawing my own porn. When I learned of pornographic artwork and animations it thrilled and inspired me more. I enjoyed viewing drawn porn and drawing my own porn because not only did it peak my artistic interests, I found it sexually stimulating.

        Throughout the years as I grew I kept my pornographic drawings a secret for fear of ridicule and punishment but later found acceptance among the online community where I received praise and commissions for my work. With the internet I was able to maintain anonymity so I kept drawing and sharing.

        Eventually I came to know a woman, though she had no idea of my loli art she expressed to me her disdain of such artwork and informed me of it's supposed illegality. It was then I quit drawing loli art, retired the name Natis_01 and withdrew from the loli art community to begin a relationship with this woman.

        In the fourth year of this (my first) relationship I became unhappy, but rather than resolve my issues or end my relationship, I turned to alcohol. Being drunk I sought familiar erotic comfort in the pornographic art I enjoyed in the past and secretly began viewing loli art on the internet again.

        One night I became blackout drunk during one of my loli art viewing sessions and passed out at my computer. I was later shaken awake by my girlfriend who exclaimed I was looking at child porn and it was then I confessed to being a former loli artist. Needless to say our relationship was over at that point. She soon moved out and notified the feds afterwards.

        In the months to follow my ex would continue to call, text and email me to deliver verbal abuse and psychological torture, but above all she would contact me to extort money. As this pattern continued I slipped deeper into an alcohol fueled depression until my ex talked me into suicide.

        It was at my weakest moment I began to think; if viewing and drawing loli art got me in this much trouble I may as well see the real thing before I kill myself. I then proceeded to search for and download real child pornography using file sharing software. Shortly thereafter I was arrested and later informed my artwork wouldn't have gotten me in trouble since there are no victims involved in my loli art.

        So long story short; I was a heartbroken, depressed, drunk and suicidal pervert who downloaded real child pornography and wound up in prison for it.

        To get a more detailed account of my story in comic strip form check out my blog at johnstonblackhorsetheoneandonly.blogspot.com which is managed by my lovely sister. Give it a visit, have a few laughs, shed a few tears, leave an anonymous comment to share your thoughts and keep the discussion going.

        Before I continue I want to apologize in advance for my humor, which might be offensive to some, but it's my coping mechanism. If I didn't poke fun at my own predicament I wouldn't be alive today, yet some people don't understand this. I don't want to seem like I'm not remorseful for my crime because I am and I've shed my tears and shared my grief with those closest to me who have stuck by my side. I've rebound from a very dark mindset coping the best way to know how and that's through laughter.

   Knock Knock

   Who's there?
   Purse.

   Purse who?

   Pursuant to Meagon's Law I'm required to inform you I am a convicted sex offender

(again, I apologize).

        Anyway, the purpose of this letter (I'm hoping becomes an article *fingers crossed*) is to address the overcriminalization of sex offenders in this country, especially those charged with either receipt, possession or distribution of child porn found on the internet.

        I know the topic of internet child porn is a very sensitive issue but because it is a highly sensitive issue we are too quick to give complete control of the matter to conservative lawmakers and government officials just to free ourselves from the discomfort. We have turned a blind eye to this topic for far too long allowing lawmakers to enact overbearing laws and punishments, though well meaning, are doing more harm than the good that was intended.

        I understand these laws were meant to be deterrents to help prevent the possession and distribution of internet child porn but when these strict laws were enacted I doubt lawmakers had the foresight to predict how widespread and accessible this illegal content would be.

        Technology and internet technologies are advancing every year at an exponential rate much faster than lawmakers can keep up thus rendering many of these laws archaic and draconian. With today's technology and the internet anyone can unintentionally come to possess internet child porn. It's because of this unfortunate matter-of-fact coupled with current laws that results in too many average people winding up in prison whose only guilt is their haphazard websurfing or habitual arbitrary downloads which we are all guilty of at one point or another (some of us on a constant daily basis...you know who you are).

        I'm sure many people out there would prefer to remain in their comfortable ignorance but I believe this overcriminalization has led to many innocent people needlessly being swept into the prison system and there will be many more to follow unless we change these overbearing laws.

        Now when I say “innocent people” I'm not referring to myself for there is no denying the fact I did knowingly download internet child pornography. The people I'm referring to as innocent are the many individuals sitting in prisons who were bullied into signing guilty plea agreements after the massive manipulative misconstrusion of meager evidence that was used against them by conviction hungry prosecutors.

        The problem facing those charged with possessing internet child porn is since this subject matter is considered so abhorrent these individuals are arrested, bullied into plea deals, convicted and sentenced to prison without a second thought to the circumstance of their offense. When, in fact, there are many individuals who unintentionally come into possession of internet child porn. Yet they suffer more, if not the same punishments, as a hands-on child molester or producer of real child pornography.
        The reason for this is since real child porn displays the sexual abuse, exploitation and victimization of real children this material carries the stigma that whomever is caught with child porn or anything likened to child porn is believed to be capable and willing to commit the acts portrayed in these images when that is simply not true in the major majority of these cases.

        There are many people who accidentally access a child porn website or unknowingly download child porn content, yet to the prosecutors and judges involved, this is enough to label these unfortunate people monsters, child porn addicts and dangerous risks to society and children. With these laws up for interpretation by crooked conviction hungry prosecutors and heavy-handed judges it has become open season on anyone who seems to have committed a child porn offense.

        When someone comes into possession of internet child porn they are eventually arrested and brought to court where they become defendants facing serious criminal charges. In federal court defendants are assigned public defenders who often put forth minimal effort in defending their clients, the defendants. Thus, allowing prosecutors to use whatever intimidation tactics they see fit in order to bully defendants into signing guilty plea agreements. In many cases, defendants will sign years of their freedom away rather than risk facing longer prison sentences if they were to choose to fight their case whether or not their possession of child porn was intentional.

        After a plea deal is signed prosecutors begin to argue through conjectural allegations that since these defendants are guilty of possessing real child porn they are one step away from perpetrating a hands-on offense with a real child victim and therefore deserving of a longer prison sentence for being “at risk.” So for the sake of these non-existent hypothetical victims heavy-handed judges render their verdict effectively tearing apart real families in order to put these so called “sex offenders” in prison for possessing images and extending their prison sentences based on speculation of a violent crime they are “at risk” of committing.

        I don't know about you but preemptive incarceration by extending a prison sentence for a crime not committed sounds very unconstitutional to me...and speaking from first-hand experience it feels very unconstitutional. I had signed a guilty plea agreement for two years in prison but since I'm considered “at risk” of becoming a hands-on sex offender the federal court saw fit to extend my sentence by one year and five months for a crime not committed. No matter how you slice it, extending a prison sentence for fear someone might commit a more serious offense based on conjecture seems unjustified, but hey, maybe that's just me.

        Now I want to make it clear, I'm not in support of real child pornography or the producers responsible for making such content. As a convicted sex offender who knows he was guilty of possessing real child porn, I'm speaking out against the overgeneralization of sex offenses leading to the overcriminalization of sex offenders, thus causing the use of prison as punishment for the mere receipt, possession or distribution of child pornography. I'm against the justice system's views of what constitutes as a sex offense, the hasty erroneous assumptions of what “sex offenders” might be capable of, the court systems overzealous pursuit of convictions behind the guise of protecting children and the unjustified fear and intimidation tactics used by law enforcement and our so called justice system that has led to the needless mass incarceration of many non-violent first time offenders.

        I know a lot of you are probably thinking, “Of course this guy is speaking out against overcriminalizing sex offenders. He's only sorry he got caught with internet child porn and just wants to get out sooner so he can re-offend. The perv!”

        That's not true... Well, everything except the “perv” part. I have to admit I am pretty perverse when it comes to a lot of the pornographic art I produced. Like this loli character I created named, “Slutty Suzy Stickypants” who I based on a popular cartoon character with a similar name. This loli character was so popular that she spawned her own erotic fan-fiction which is a pretty interesting read. I enjoyed the fan-fiction so much I agreed to draw fan art of one of the many supporting characters. It's kind of weird when you think about it because I drew fan-art for a fan-fiction written by a fan of a drawing I drew.

        However, I've digressed. Where was I? Oh, yeah! Yes, I am perverse and yes, I downloaded real internet child pornography in a drunken suicidal depressive state, but being arrested and placed under house arrest during my one year court process is probably the best thing that has happened to me in years.

        It was during my one year of house arrest with the support of close family and friends along with voluntary group therapy I was able to pull myself out of suicidal depression, lose 80 pounds of unhealthy weight, quit smoking, quit drinking, write a manuscript of short stories, begin writing a second manuscript, start sketching a graphic novel and I even taught myself how to juggle... I had a lot of time on my hands.

        Despite all my vast improvements in physical and mental health as well as conquering my self-destructive habits, I was still sentenced to prison where all my progress has ground to a screeching halt. In prison any self improvements can only move forward at a snail's pace done on the prison's time by the prison's schedule surrounded by prisoners, many of whom, don't take too kindly to sex offenders. As far as I've seen, prison only serves to hinder rehabilitation, not assist it.

        Don't get me wrong. Prison is a fine place for those guilty of severe heinous crimes such as: murder, rape, excessive violence, armed robbery, and to a lesser extent, identity theft... Those jerks.

        Prison is the bee's knees for these severe offenders and I speak from first-hand experience. I never have to face the indecision of what to wear as long as I'm always in the mood to wear prison uniforms. I'm given a great place to sleep in the form of a bunk which I really appreciate (my ex took my memory foam bed leaving me to sleep on the floor for one year after our break up and the one year during my house arrest...I was too broke from paying bills and my ex's extortion money to buy a new one). The prison food is okay when it's not spoiled but the milk at breakfast is always a crapshoot since it's either spoiled or on the verge of spoiling. The healthcare is also...not non-existent? But really, if you end up in prison don't get sick or your two year sentence will become a death sentence. (Ha it's funny 'cause it's true. No seriously there are people dying in here). And thanks to PREA (the Prison Rape Elimination Act) prison rape is down by what I assume is some large percent because I've dropped the soap a countless number of times during my incarceration and haven't been sodomized yet (knock on wood). I guess I'm not too pretty for prison after all...please don't rape me.

        So prison is a fine place for the worst of the worst but is the mere receipt, possession or distribution of images really prison worthy trespass where one is put on supervised release for 5 years to life afterwards and labeled a sex offender for the rest of one's days?

        In the past I didn't have an opinion and when I caught my case and received my sentence I accepted prison because who was I to argue against the federal justice system? It's only after I came to know other defendants and inmates charged with similar sex offenses that I have came to the conclusion, prison is too excessive a punishment for a low level sex offense.

        I believe wholeheartedly people guilty of a non-violent sex offense are much better served on house arrest where they can be surrounded by a support net of close family and friends, have access to proper therapy and healthcare needed and all the while continue to be productive members of society.

        There are many people in prison for non-violent and victim-less sex offenses who are first time offenders with no criminal record or history of violence but the problem is those found guilty of possessing child porn are considered violent sex offenders due to the nature of these images and the victims involved in the production of this content.

        I would understand this reasoning if someone were guilty of the immediate sexual abuse of a victim in these images or was in some way directly involved with the production of real child porn. But these people are so many degrees removed from the direct production and victimization that charging these individuals as violent sex offenders is superfluous, especially for those whose child porn possession was unintended.

        Furthermore, how can one be considered a violent offender when there was no malice of forethought in committing a violent offense when one is unaware of the illicit content on the other end of a simple mouse click or keystroke? Should a keystroke be equated with unwanted physical contact?Is a mouse click analogous to uninvited sexual penetration? Should we all face a prison sentence for our supposed violent offenses every time we sit at a computer?

        About those that have an admitted child porn addiction, many of them attest to having no desire to go hands-on with a first-hand victim since they themselves were former victims of childhood sexual abuse. For those individuals, prison only serves to agitate their addictions where they mingle with some of the more severe child porn addicts and hands-on child molesters who boast about their child porn collections or brag about their sexually abusive acts involving minors. Worse yet these negative influences instruct other offenders in how not to get caught so easily if they choose to re-offend or encourage them to go much further with lurid detailed stories of their former illicit sexual exploits.

        Yes, there are individuals truly guilty of their possession of child porn and many of them admit to having an addiction to child porn but prison is no place to receive treatment for these addictions. There are some offenders in prison who sought help on the outside but there is little aid for these addictions in the free world and due to mandatory reporting laws many of those seeking help were quickly apprehended, prosecuted, convicted and placed in prison.

        I'm sure there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of individuals in the free world who suffer from an addiction to child porn but are too afraid of these mandatory reporting laws concerning child porn that result in persecution, prosecution and incarceration thus leaving them to suffer in their quiet solitude allowing their addictions to go untreated and unchecked.

        Should prison really be considered for those caught with child pornography or those who willingly come forward seeking help for child porn addiction? Should prison be considered at all for a sex offense where there was no sexual contact between two parties or no sexual abuse of an immediate victim?

        I'll share three glaring examples of the many cases in which I believe prison is severely unnecessary. Read them and judge for yourself whether or not these prison sentences are justified.

* * *

        There is a young man, let's call him “Jay”, who is 22 years old, serving 6 years in prison after being arrested at 18 for 7 child porn images he mistakenly downloaded at age 16.

        When Jay was 16 he, like any other hormonal computer savvy teenage boy, had an interest in pornography and used his laptop to download pornography images via free file sharing software available to anyone owning a computer with an internet connection. Unfortunately in Jay's mass arbitrary download of hundreds of pornographic images he had unwittingly downloaded 7 child porn images. Upon realizing his mistake, Jay deleted all pornography without viewing any of these images so as not to risk exposing himself to any illicit content but the feds had tracked the download. Shortly after Jay's 18th birthday he was arrested and would spend the next 3 years on house arrest for the duration of his case.

        During his court process Jay's prosecutor first offered a plea deal of 3 years in prison to which the judge, overseeing this case, threw out stating it was too harsh a sentence for one so young. The persecutor agreed to return with a new plea agreement with less severe penalties but instead waited knowing this judge was close to retirement.

        The prosecutor sat on Jay's case for years until the first judge retired and was replaced with a new judge who wasn't so lenient when it came to sex offense involving child porn. It was then the prosecutor returned with the new plea agreement bearing a prison sentence for 6 years to which the new judge found reasonable. Jay not wanting to risk a longer prison sentence had no chance but to sign this harsher plea deal.

        After 3 years of house arrest, Jay at 21 was sentenced to 6 years in prison with 5 years probation for 7 images he mistakenly downloaded at age 16. Images that to this day he has not seen with his own eyes.

        The young man was completely unaware of the illegal content he had downloaded but was quick to delete those files after realizing his blunder and in those 2 years leading up to his arrest at age 18 had no repeated incidence of this nature nor did he violate during his 3 years house arrest. Jay admits he had pornography addiction but it's only to regular legal porn he was addicted. He finds the idea of child porn or any form of pedophilia so detestable that when confronted with the evidence being used against him he refused to expose himself to any of the 7 images he mistakenly downloaded all those years ago.

        Personally I believe Jay is in need of some counseling for his pornography addiction but as far as reprimanding goes for his offense, what do you think? Does Jay sound like a man who deserves to suffer prison for an honest mistake?

* * *

        This next case involves a man in his late 30's, let's call him “Wayne”, who was sentenced to 15 years for 2 child porn images.

        Wayne is a Native American who had served 3 years in the regular Army and 5 years in the National Guard before settling down, getting married and having 3 children. Wayne was computer illiterate but was taught by his wife how to use their family computer. She helped him create his own personal folder and taught him how to surf the web and download images to his personal folder. As Wayne became more accustomed to using the family computer and being an admitted “leg-man” he began to download female celebrity leg photos to his personal folder which is pretty average male behavior (I'm a Japanese anime/manga T&A man myself but that's probably not that average...yeah it's a pretty safe bet I'll be single for a long while after this).

        One day Wayne noticed several new images downloaded to his personal folder he didn't recognize. Wayne opened the first of these images and saw it was a selfie photo of an underage teen female. As Wayne opened a few more of these selfie photos he realized the racy nature of these images, immediately stopped viewing them and deleted his entire personal folder determined to dispose of all these questionable photos. With his folder and the selfies deleted, Wayne thought that would be the end of it but he was arrested soon after.

        Warrant-less, law enforcement took Wayne and the family computer into custody, collecting all images from the computer including the images in Wayne's deleted personal folder. Unknown to Wayne, law enforcement has the ability to un-delete images for use as evidence. Using this technology law enforcement was able to gather a total of about 12,000 images from the family computer, 15 of which were the selfie photos of the underage teen female recovered from Wayne's deleted personal folder and of these 15 only 2 were considered pornographic.

        Now think about that for a minute. Law enforcement was able to gather 12,000 images and only 2 were considered pornographic and just to underline the bias nature of these cases the other 11,998 images consisting of photos of Wayne's family, friends, home, vehicles, landscape and downloaded celebrity leg shots were all considered “erotica”. It just goes to show, once you are suspected of possessing child porn you are no longer seen as an average person but instead viewed as a sexual deviant in the eyes of the court. Nevertheless Wayne's lawyer fought hard for him in his local tribal court and just as it seemed he was cleared of all the charges...the feds swooped in and picked up Wayne and his case.

        Once Wayne's case went federal, what seemed like an assured victory turned into utter defeat. What came to follow is a disturbing display of the massive misconstruction the federal justice system will utilize in order to gain a conviction.

        Wayne's federal prosecutor took the details of Wayne's case and distorted the truth in order to suit her want for a conviction. Remember the 12,000 images law enforcement gathered and only 2 were labeled child porn? Well the local newspapers in Wayne's district would later read, “local man, Wayne, found with child pornography, over 12,000 images found”. Technically the facts are correct, but the wording is extremely misleading. Regardless, Wayne's federal prosecutor used these dirty tactics with threats of a longer prison sentence to pressure Wayne into signing a plea deal.

        Another factor working against Wayne is the federal public defender assigned to him refused to fight as hard as his local tribal lawyer. Wayne's lawyer was astonished at the public defender's inability to get Wayne's charges dropped despite having all the necessary notes and paperwork to do so. Instead, it seemed the federal public defender served Wayne up on a silver platter allowing the federal prosecutor to steamroll him into a plea agreement of 15 years. The only reason Wayne bears the burden of possessing 2 images of child porn is the generalized fact these images were recovered from his deleted folder on a family computer that was accessible to anyone, friends and family alike.

        The most disturbing fact in Wayne's case which some of you might have glazed over is the warrant-less arrest and seizure of Wayne and the family computer. Wayne has spent 2.5 years in prison with still no warrant for either his arrest or the seizure of the family computer.

        Wayne is a happily married husband and father of 3 who served 8 years in the US armed forces. His only proclivity was admiring leg-shot photos of legal aged celebrities. Does Wayne seem like a man addicted to child porn or pornography in general? Keep in mind that out of 12,000 images seized there were only 2 pornographic selfies of an under-aged teen female that Wayne attests to not downloading personally. Does Wayne deserve his 15 years in prison or any prison time at all?

* * *

        Another case relayed to me, if it be true, is an extreme example of the massive manipulative misconstrusion the federal justice system is capable of. If it not be true, this story isn't a far cry from where the justice system is heading.

        This case involves an elderly gentleman 73 years young, let's call him “Casey”, arrested by the US marshals for the alleged possession of child pornography. When Casey demanded to see the supposed evidence being used against him the marshals produced vacation photos of his grandchildren. Vacation photos taken by his wife, the grandmother and his daughter, the mother of his grandchildren at play in their swimsuits.

        Casey exclaimed the charges were ridiculous and attempted to leave. The marshals took this as resisting arrest and proceeded to brutally beat Casey into submission. Casey defended himself as best he could but was later hospitalized with severe bruises, fractured ribs and a concussion.

        After recovering from his injuries Casey would attempt to fight his case still surprised the prosecutor continued to misconstrue the vacation photos of his grandchildren as child porn. On top of this he was being charged with endangering the lives of the US marshals, who brutalized him, when he was “resisting arrest”.

        Eventually Casey being of such advanced age agreed to sign a plea deal for the minimum amount of prison time available to him. He is expecting to serve 12-15 years in prison for possessing photos of his grandchildren misconstrued as child porn and resisting arrest.

        If this case be true, has the overcriminalization of child porn become so bad that grandparents and parents are at risk of being arrested, prosecuted and convicted for possessing innocent photos of their children or grandchildren? If this is really the case, a photo of a child needn't be pornographic to be labeled child porn.

* * *

        In these few examples are these men really deserving of a prison sentence? This is just a very small example of the egregious miscarriage of justice in the federal court system when dealing with people who are seen as sex offenders. How many more of these cases are in this prison that I am in? In this state? This country?

        I also believe the tactics and practices of these prosecutors have to be called into question. Prosecutors working with impunity are too willing to use highly questionable tactics to gain a conviction. In the many cases I have come into contact with so far I have seen the manipulation of evidence, the misconstrusion of the truth, the fabrication of testimony, the coercion of false testimony and the relocation and padding of evidence from one case to another making defendants appear worse than they actually are.

        These crooked prosecutors must face serious inquiry for when they use these unjust tactics to fulfill their want for more convictions they not only destabilize the lives of defendants, they also tear apart families, effectively destroying family support structures impacting all lives involved.

        Prosecutors are are supposed to use truth in the pursuit of justice, not the misconstrusion of the truth and manipulation of evidence in pursuit of convictions. The pursuit of justice and the pursuit of convictions are two very different things but it seems many prosecutors are unaware of the difference.

        We hold these people in their position of law up to a higher standard of morals and justice. When prosecutors are found guilty of using unethical tactics in pursuit of convictions they should have to face prison sentences themselves for the unjust ruining of lives. Besides, these prosecutors don't have the criminal mindset to cover up the traces of their misdeeds so I'm sure simple cross-reference of their files and cases should bring to light the extent of their violations.

        I'm sure, if we take away prosecutors' impunity we will have fewer people like Jay, Wayne and Casey in prison.

        Aside from federal prosecutors' rampant miscarriage of justice, the major underlying issue here is fear. When we hear the words “sex offender” we automatically assume the worst of the worst because we are conditioned to think of rapists and hands-on child molesters when we hear this phrase uttered thanks to fear marketing by today's media.

        Thanks to fear marketing we believe the overcriminalization and imprisonment of individuals caught with child porn is justified because fear leads us to the hasty conclusion that these offenders will eventually commit a violent hands-on offense when that is simply not the case. Through fear, society had attained an unwillingness to bear the burden of understanding and seeking proper treatment for anyone remotely accused of committing a sex offense. As a result we give into common misconceptions becoming all too comfortable with the ill-conceived notion of using prison as a “cure-all” for any lewd conduct akin to sexual behavior deemed unfit for society by conservative law-makers and the US justice system.
        When it comes to sex offenders in federal court it seems there is no innocence before proven guilty. Guilt is already assumed where one has to prove their innocence, making the federal justice system an assembly line of convictions.

        In order to better handle these cases and to it no more families are needlessly torn apart we have to discuss these matters to understand this problem, dispelling these misconceptions so we can seek proper solutions rather then sweeping all these individuals into prisons en masse.

        My goal is to stop this runaway train of convictions and overcriminalization by writing letters to enlighten the people and change the minds of law-makers. So let's first disarm these conviction hungry prosecutors by dispelling the misconceptions they utilize in court, shall we?

Misconception #1: Those who come in contact with internet child porn were searching for internet child porn.

        The first misconception we'll address is the idea that all those found with internet child porn were aware of or actively searching for internet child porn when in fact there are countless individuals who stumble upon this material through haphazard web-surfing or arbitrary downloads on P2P (Peer to Peer) file sharing networks.

        In haphazard web-surfing an individual might click on a web-link not knowing where it leads only to be taken to a child porn website. Unbeknownst to the individual in that instant the computer has automatically downloaded and stored the child porn images from that website to the computer's internet memory cache. By interpretation of the law that person is now guilty of possessing child pornography.

        But, how can one be held accountable for the automatic functions of their computer or the websites they come in contact with? For people who surf adult websites one of the hazards are pop-up (or pop-under) browser windows which lead to more adult websites. This is an automatic function of many adult sites which sometimes triggers a chain reaction of more pop-up adult sites with some featuring very illicit pornography.

        So again, how can one be responsible for the automatic functions of technology in the instance one's tech leads them to websites they didn't intend to see?

        Makes me wonder what tied-down bureaucratic zealot will impose a law making the browsing of pornographic websites illegal. I wonder who would adhere to such a stringent law?...NOBODY, THAT' WHO! Come on, I am not going to stop viewing porn. Not only have I drawn porn to supplement my income but I'm sure pornography and a bottle of lotion is going to be the closest I'll ever get to being intimate with another woman again once I become a registered sex offender. Yes, my hopes for another relationship after prison are very minute, but I've come to terms with that...I should consider buying stock in Kleenex and Jergens when I get out. Sigh Moving on.

        For those found of P2P file sharing networks such as Limewire or Torrent an individual in the habit of arbitrary downloads might unknowingly select a file containing child porn and be completely unaware of the illegal content being downloaded.

        When using P2P file sharing software there are no preview images to display the content of a file before download. All a P2P user has to go on is a title and small description of the file which is provided by other users of the P2P network. Often a file containing child porn content will have a vague title or small description giving little to no clues as to its illegal content unless one is aware of specific the keywords used to describe this material.

        I doubt everyone is aware of keywords such as: LS magazine, BD Magazine, r@ygold and pthc. These are just a few examples of the terms used to download real child porn which are all pretty vague unless you know what these terms mean. I didn't even know their meaning until I looked them up at urbandictionary.com during my drunken suicidal episode, but be warned these are only a few of the keywords used to search for real child pornography.

A user of P2P file-sharing software is at greater risk for multiple criminal charges due to the fact that once an illegal file is begins downloading it automatically starts sharing that same file among the P2P network during and after the download process. Once the download of an illegal file is complete a P2P user by interpretation of the law is guilty of receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography whether or not the user was aware of the illegal content being downloaded and uploaded.

Well depending on certain files one can't be sure of what the content is until the file has completed it's download so how can one be guilty of receipt, possession or distribution of child porn when they were unaware of the content of the files being downloaded/uploaded? Furthermore, how can once be held responsible for the automatic functions of file-sharing software used when it begins to upload and share unknown illegal content through its automated programming?

Misconception 2: Those who posses child porn paid for it.
        Another common misconception used in the court is the false idea that all those found in possession of child pornography had purchased this illegal material when in fact child porn is widely available for free on the internet and P2P networks.

        The reason many child pornography cases go federal is due to the use of a computer with internet access causing the child porn in question to cross state lines where the federal argument is; when illegal content crosses state lines via the internet it effects interstate commerce thus falling under federal jurisdiction.

        Now I'm just a simple Navajo bumpkin what knows how to draw real purdy 'n' such, but doesn't interstate commerce or commerce in general entail a transfer of funds or monies in exchange for a commodity or service? Yet, in all child porn cases I have come across (including mine) there was no exchange of money for child porn. So how can one effect interstate commerce with something acquired for free?

        Perhaps I'm too simple to figure it out but there are prosecutors who argue the exchange of money for internet child porn occurs when one in possession of internet child porn pays for their internet connection.

        Now that might be a valid argument, however nobody pays for an internet connection for the sole purpose of downloading child porn. They are paying for the general use of the internet. Furthermore, internet service providers aren't in the business of providing child porn. They are in the business of connecting people to the internet. Therefore the argument of internet child pornography effecting interstate commerce falls flat.

Misconception #3: A simple deletion of illegal child porn content will prevent criminal charges being filed.

        To those who believe a simple deletion of illegal content will prevent criminal charges, be warned that deletion brings little relief.

        Law enforcement utilizes special recovery software that can locate deleted file fragments and resemble them for use in court. Such is the case with Jay and Wayne who had deleted what little child porn they had thinking it would rectify their situation but the deleted file fragments of this child porn only laid dormant in their computer hard drives until reassembled by law enforcement software and used in court as if Jay and Wayne were guilty of actively collecting this illegal content.

        Well shouldn't the act of deleting an illegal file be seen as an effort to right a wrong or correct a mistake especially if there are rare or no other occurrences of this nature? If the only evidence of child porn used in court had to be recovered from deletion shouldn't the case be viewed in a different light? Sounds reasonable to me.

Misconception #4: Only perverts and pedophiles distribute child pornography.

        All these misconceptions pale in comparison to the outrageous fact that the FBI themselves are the biggest distributors of the very same child porn content people are getting arrested for.

        It was very recently the FBI took control of a child porn website. Instead of dismantling this illegal site, the FBI managed it for 2 weeks distributing child porn hoping to track whomever might download this content. The FBI has also been distributing child pornography in vast quantities in P2P file sharing network strings for some time now with the same goal of tracking anyone who happens to download from their computers.

        Are these tactics ethical? Should the FBI be allowed to distribute mass quantities of child porn in order to arrest anyone who might browse through or download their content?

        Whatever the case may be, these tactics are ridiculous because in essence the FBI is chasing the same sinister shadow that they themselves are guilty of casting. How can we trust a federal justice system that condemns people for downloading content that federal agents are distributing?

        On top of this the FBI has been compiling a list of millions of individuals who have come in contact with FBI distributed child porn thus making a waiting list of unaware people being primed for persecution and incarceration. Could you or a loved one be on this list?

        I know I speak for many others when I say I'll probably never trust another government agent or government authority again...those dirty child porn peddlers (That's right! I said it! What are they going to do? Throw me in prison? Ha!)

        At this point I believe something needs to be said about the sex offender registry. The sex offender registry's original purpose was to track and monitor predatory sex offenders guilty of hands-on sexual abuse. Presently the registry has been expanded to include all sex offenders causing the registry and authorities who monitor it to spread their resources thin rendering the system useless.

        The reason for this is the plain and simple fact that one doesn't need to have sex or make sexual contact to be labeled a sex offender. The registry is needlessly being used on a massive number of non-predatory “sex offenders” ranging from those found guilty based solely on hearsay those caught urinating outdoors within city limits and those found simply with receipt, possession and/or distribution of nothing more than images or videos.

        Now people will argue when people view child porn it re-victimizes the victims. Being a former victim myself, though my abuse wasn't documented, I agree what happened to these victims is horrible and shouldn't have happened but to say someone who downloads this content actively re-victimizes these victims is an excessive notion.

        I understand the continued download and sharing of this content may prolong these victims' emotional suffering but if that's the case, shouldn't the FBI be held responsible for the continued wide spread distribution of these images from FBI run child porn websites and P2P file sharing stings?

        Currently if a defendant is found guilty of possessing child porn with an identified victim/victims the defendant is required to pay restitutions to the victim/victims in a dollar amount determined by the court which I assume is some high number.

        Requiring defendants to pay restitutions to victims of child porn is a fine idea on paper but what of the defendants who came into possession of child porn unintentionally? What about cases in which the FBI was responsible for the initial distribution? I know I'll be ridiculed for this next question but I'll play devil's advocate; who's making sure some of these former victims aren't distributing this content trying to gain more restitutions?

        So the idea of having defendants pay restitutions to victims of child porn is a fine idea in theory but in practice there are too many unknown variables and unintended consequences.

        Besides, I'm sure these former victims grew more resentful toward the FBI for the constant reminders of their childhood abuse whenever they are identified in a new child porn case.

*Phone rings* Former victim of child porn answers phone

Former Victim- “Hello?”

FBI Agent- “Hello, this is the FBI calling. Is this (Former Victim's name)”

Former Victim- “Yes, this is she. What's this about?”

FBI Agent- “Do you remember all those images and videos made of your childhood sexual abuse?”

Former Victim- “I try to forget and move on with my life but since you brought it up...Yes, I remember. Why?”

FBI Agent- “Well we've arrested another pervert with your images so we're calling to get a victim statement and see if you want to seek restitutions.”

Former Victim- *exasperated sigh* “No. I don't want anymore restitutions. I just want the FBI to stop the spreading of these images so I can forget and move on with my life.”

FBI Agent- “Oh...whoops.”

Former Victim- “...What?”

FBI Agent- “Well in order to catch people downloading your child porn we had to distribute your child porn. ”

Former Victim- “WHAT!?”

FBI Agent - “Yeah, it's made our job a whole lot easier. We distributed your child porn to hundreds of thousands of people, tracked some of the downloads and made a few arrests so far, but don't worry. We'll get all these perverts someday. We just called to let you know we caught another pervert and we'll probably call again soon for another victim statement. Bye. ”

*CLICK*

Former Victim- “...”

        These former victims needn't be reminded of their traumatic past and should be left out of the FBI investigative process. If anything, these victims should be given government issued trust funds with a college grant so they can move on with their lives. If restitutions are still needed, I believe the FBI should pay the majority of that bill for their exploitative use and distribution of victims' pain and suffering to make arrests.

        If I'm wrong then the FBI can cry me a river and I'll sail any on the S.S. Boohoo. I know I sound like a dick but what do I care at this point? I'm a convicted felon sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release as a sex offender. People are always going to have a low opinion of me right off the bat so I may as well call it like I see it and be a dick about it too. *sigh* I'm so going to get shot and/or stabbed.

        Well as long as I'm discussing common misconceptions, outrageous truths and criticizing hypocritical FBI tactics I may as well bring up another disturbing trend that has been weighing on my mind since I learned of it several weeks ago.

        I've learned there have been several individuals going to prison for fictional child pornography drawings much like the drawings I produced as the loli artist Natis_01. Even though real children or photos of real children aren't utilized in the production of this art, people are still going to prison over victim-less artwork due to a law called the 2003 Protect Act.

        This 2003 Protect Act is an obscenity law making any drawing, painting, sculpture or literary work illegal if deemed obscene by the government. In the past, as long as child pornography artwork didn't utilize real children in its production it didn't qualify as child porn making it not illegal.

        The 2003 Protect Act makes the possession or production of child porn art, even the possession of Japanese adult cartoons or artwork featuring fictional child characters having sex, illegal. With this law in place a handful of individuals have already gone to prison for the collecting or production of this material in the US.

        There are a few reasons I find the 2003 Protect Act very disturbing. First and foremost this Protect Act tramples on my constitutional right to freedom of artistic expression as an artist. Second is apparently the Protect Act was enacted back in 2003 whereas I made my loli art debut as Natis_01 back in 2004, oblivious to this new law making every fictional child porn drawing I made as Natis_01 illegal (I guess my ex wasn't completely full of crap after all..I might owe her an apology...a small one.) Third, after I do my time in prison for my possession of real child pornography I could get sent right back to prison for my fictional child pornography artwork, if the government saw fit to do so.

        In any case I want to ask, what is this so called 2003 “Protect” Act protecting? It surely isn't the constitutional rights of artists like myself and if you think it's protecting children, I find that very naive and laughable.

        Think about it. Real child pornography is illegal, that's a given, but when you take away the victim-less outlet that so many people who suffer from a perverse addiction use...I shudder to think of what the more severe addicts might resort to. With fictional child pornography art now as illegal as its real life counterpart punishable by up to 20 years in prison coupled with mandatory reporting laws in place if they were to come forward to admit their addictions, severe pedophilia addicts might start weighing the disturbing truth that those who commit an actual hands-on rape, sexual abuse or molestation of an immediate child victim suffer smaller prison sentences, usually within the realm of 5 years.

        So in actuality this 2003 “Protect” Act doesn't protect anything or anyone and should be abolished immediately. For instance let's say there is a pedophilia addict who is given the option between the victim-less outlet provided by artists such as myself or real child pornography. Wouldn't you prefer the addict chose the former rather than the real alternative? That's what I've tried to provide as a loli artist is a victim-less outlet to help curb or stop the exploitation and abuse of real children ...that, and I'm really good at loli art.

        Besides, I'll be damned before I let some overbearing bureaucratic law tell me what I can or can't create as an artist. Sure loli art is only one of the genres I express myself in, but a censorship in one genre is intolerable and to make it illegal is going to far.

        Once I've paid my debt to society for the possession of real child porn I'm not going to stop creating loli art. If the government wants to punish me for all the loli art I produced since 2004 I'll be waiting right here in prison. (Come and get me you conservative bureaucratic bigots!)

A great many of you might remain incredulous to the things I've said so far but please take it upon yourselves to look into these issues...except for those keywords I mentioned. You're better off taking my word as fact concerning those keywords lest you find yourself in the same boat (prison) I'm in.

        After you've seen yourself how bad this overcriminalization has become I think we can all agree that it has to stop before it continues to get worse. How many people continue to suffer or will suffer for an honest mistake or for fictional artwork? Families are being torn apart for the needless imprisonment of their loved ones over the mere receipt, possession or distribution of images, real and fictional. People are going to prison for fear of hypothetical future offenses that have a very low risk of occurring. With prosecutors and judges willing to interpret these present overbearing laws as they see fit, everyone is at risk of being convicted as a sex offender and sent to prison. Could you or one close to you be the next victim of this overcriminalization?

        In conclusion, I must admit I've struggled with writing this letter wondering if I should continue. My selfish side tells me I should be grateful for the small amount of prison time I was given and to keep my head down, do my time quietly and be done with it. The compassionate side of me, however, looks around and sees the unfair treatment of others with the same charge I have but suffer more time for much less.

        Too many of these individuals didn't intend to possess child porn yet through intimidation tactics of crooked prosecutors these people were bullied into signing years of their freedom away. My heart goes out to these poor souls stuck in prison and their families who continue to suffer without them in the free world, all victims of the overcriminalization of sex offenders. I know their suffering is unnecessary. Is it with compromising the freedom of the many for the incarceration of the few?

        Jay has been in prison for a full year now. His family has traveled hundreds of miles to visit him every weekend so far and has promised a visit every weekend in the future until his release from prison. Jay misses his family dearly and wants nothing more than to go home but still has 5 years left for his arbitrary download of 7 child pornography images when he was 16.

        Wayne has been in prison for 2.5 years. Unfortunately Wayne's family lives too far away from the prison to visit and Wayne doesn't want them to pay the large expense it would take to visit him. Instead of visits Wayne calls his family for 15 minutes every evening of everyday if his prison phone minutes allow. Wayne bears the heartache of watching his children grow up in photos his wife sends to him and sadly during the time it has taken me to write and rewrite this letter Wayne has suffered the loss of 3 family members to either old age or diabetes. Wayne still has 12 years left for 2 child porn images he found in his personal folder on a family computer open to anyone.

        The last heard of Casey is due to his advanced age he had reserved himself to writing his will knowing he might not out live the 12 to 15 years he is stated to receive. A grandfather 73 years young having to sign 12 to 15 years of his remaining life away for possessing vacation photos of his grandchildren misconstrued as child pornography.

        The more I look around and interact with these people the more I see I have to write this letter.

The majority of these individuals charged with an alleged sex offense would rather sign a guilty plea agreement instead of dragging out the court process risking more public exposure and prison time. Knowing this prosecutors are willing to use questionable tactics in order to gain a conviction, comfortable in the fact no idiot in their right mind would want to thrust themselves into the public eye and speak out against these overbearing laws, crooked prosecutors and heavy handed judges.

        Well I am no ordinary idiot and I'm very much in my left mind. I'm also naive and gullible enough to think these words I'm writing will begin to sway public opinion about these matters.

        I'm not doing this just for those already caught up in an unjust system. I'm doing this for those yet to be effected. I'm doing this for you the reader, your loved ones and close friends for we don't know who'll be next to suffer this overcriminalization. I'm putting myself on the line for the people too afraid to speak out against this injustice and too afraid of public ridicule and scrutiny.

        I know I'm taking a big risk and making a bigger target of myself by writing this letter. I know I'll become the subject of much debate and ridicule...mostly ridicule. But for the sake of all those who don't need to be in prison, their families who suffer in the free world without them and the many who have yet to suffer my effort is all worth it.

        I'm not the first to speak out against these issues and judging by the way things are going, I'll be far from the last. So until next time let's do our best to spread the word and change things for the better.

                                                Sincerely, Johnston Blackhorse

                                                                                     the one and only