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Home > United States v. Fletcher

United States v. Fletcher [1]

Submitted by DMLP Staff on Mon, 09/15/2008 - 17:30

Summary

Threat Type: 

Criminal Charge

Date: 

09/26/2008

Status: 

Concluded

Disposition: 

Convicted
Material Removed

Location: 

Pennsylvania

Verdict or Settlement Amount: 

N/A

Legal Claims: 

Obscenity
In September 2006, Federal authorities prosecuted Karen Fletcher for transmitting obscene materials in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1462(a) and 2, after she posted graphic fictional stories on her website, Red Rose Stories.  According to the indictment,... read full description
Parties

Party Receiving Legal Threat: 

Karen Fletcher

Type of Party: 

Government

Type of Party: 

Individual

Location of Party: 

  • United States

Location of Party: 

  • Pennsylvania

Legal Counsel: 

Mary Beth Buchanan

Legal Counsel: 

Warner Mariani; Lawrence Walters, Derek B. Brett, Jerome H. Mooney - Weston, Garrou, DeWitt & Walters
Description

In September 2006, Federal authorities prosecuted Karen Fletcher for transmitting obscene materials in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1462(a) and 2 [2], after she posted graphic fictional stories on her website, Red Rose Stories [3].  According to the indictment [4], Fletcher posted various stories on the website describing the torture, sexual molestation, and murder of fictional children. The case was notable because the allegedly obscene materials were text only, and the government has never won a conviction based solely on text under current obscenity law. 

Fletcher pled guilty [5] to six counts of distributing obscene materials online in August 2008. She was sentenced to a term of probation of 60 months, with 6 months of home detention, a fine of $1,000, and a special assessment of $600. 

Related Links: 

  • First Amendment Center: Pa. woman charged with obscenity for online child-torture stories [6]
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Woman charged over 'vile' web stories [7]
  • Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Afraid of public trial, author to plead guilty in online obscenity case [8]
  • Pittsburgh City Paper: New objections raised in obscenity case [9]
Details

Web Site(s) Involved: 

Red Rose Stories [3] (archived)

Content Type: 

  • Text

Publication Medium: 

Website

Subject Area: 

  • Children
  • Criminal
  • Obscenity
Court Information & Documents

Jurisdiction: 

  • Pennsylvania

Source of Law: 

  • United States

Court Name: 

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

Court Type: 

Federal

Case Number: 

Crim. No. 06-00329

Relevant Documents: 

PDF icon 2006-09-26-Fletcher Indictment.pdf [10]
PDF icon 2006-09-27-Department of Justice Press Release.pdf [11]
PDF icon 2008-08-07-Fletcher's Plea Agreement.pdf [12]
PDF icon 2008-08-07-Fletcher's Plea.pdf [13]
PDF icon 2008-08-07-Judgment Against Fletcher.pdf [14]
CMLP Information (Private)

Threat Source: 

MLRC

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Source URL (modified on 08/20/2014 - 11:07pm): https://www.dmlp.org/threats/united-states-v-fletcher

Links
[1] https://www.dmlp.org/threats/united-states-v-fletcher
[2] http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00001462----000-.html
[3] http://web.archive.org/web/20051013061608/http:/www.red-rose-stories.com/
[4] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-09-26-Fletcher%20Indictment.pdf
[5] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-08-07-Fletcher%27s%20Plea.pdf
[6] http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=17458
[7] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06271/725743-58.stm
[8] http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08138/882650-85.stm
[9] http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=38834
[10] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-09-26-Fletcher%20Indictment.pdf
[11] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2006-09-27-Department%20of%20Justice%20Press%20Release.pdf
[12] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-08-07-Fletcher%27s%20Plea%20Agreement.pdf
[13] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-08-07-Fletcher%27s%20Plea.pdf
[14] https://www.dmlp.org/sites/dmlp.org/files/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2008-08-07-Judgment%20Against%20Fletcher.pdf