My focus is on lewd conduct issues relating to public cruising. I also concentrate on cruising on the internet, and possession of erotic materials including the use of computers.

I am devoted to the legal problems that Gays encounter because of their sexuality

LAW OFFICE OF
Bruce W. Nickerson

 Advice for Surfing the Internet

COMPUTER PERILS FOR THE UNWARY

Many persons of both orientations enjoy surfing the Web for adult erotica. This activity, while legal, is fraught with many dangers for the unwary. The primary danger is that while searching for adult material they may inadvertently get images of children engaging in sexual conduct. This may happen any number of ways.

They may click on a website that advertises legal material
and end up with a website that is features children. They may be inside an adult website and click on a thumbnail featuring an adult and instead of the adult appearing on the screen, a child appears. They may click on a newsgroup supposedly featuring adult material or even non sexual information--asparagus, for example--and end up with tons of "kiddie porn." Even if none of this is saved, the images remain on your computer and can be retrieved later by the government using special programs not readily available to the general public. Then some police "expert" who is really no more than a whore for the prosecution will take the stand and swear under penalty of perjury that these items on your computer are readily assessable--like taking it from one filing cabinet and placing it in another.
This of course is bullshit.

My expert will testify that items on the deleted portion of your hard drive are inaccessible to most of you without a special program which usually only the government has. I will then cite certain important Federal cases which require you to know that you can still obtain these images off your hard drive in order to be guilty of "knowingly possessing illegal images." (see footnot)

Unfortunately, although I certainly will be able to acquit you, the cost may be high. Expert testimony does not come cheap and is essential to winning these cases.

One thing you can do to partially insulate yourself from the above scenario is to invest in wiping software. In fact if you regularly surf the web for erotica or have ever received any questionable images you must either invest in software to wipe your computer clean or hire a trusted expert to do it for you. Be sure you explain to the expert that you acquired these images inadvertantly. Otherwise he may believe that he has a duty to report you to the authorities.

If your interest is in older (18-19) teenagers then you must take other very special precautions. There are many websites which specialize in young adults. The legal ones all contain a statement that they comply with the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 2257 which require them to have for each model proof on file of the person's age when the images were produced. Do not download any images from a site that does not contain this statement. If you mistakenly obtain images from a site which does not have this statement, delete and wipe the images from your computer using either an expert or the programs available.
You may still encounter problems. however. Many legal websites contain images which appear to be younger than 18. My experts have informed me that this is done in two ways: a model is found who is 18 but appears younger, or a legal model is "morphed" to appear younger than he is. The first situation is clearly legal. The Supreme Court in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Asssociation has stated that the government must prove a child was used to create the image. That means that to convict you the government must prove that this particular image was that of a particular child who was under the age of 18 at the time the image was created.

Experts in child development have long been aware that children in modern societies mature two to three years earlier than they did several generations ago. This is because of improvements in diet and living conditions. However, children in Eastern European countries or those in underdeveloped countries mature similar to our ancestors because their societies have not yet advanced nutritionally to where we are. This means that persons can still be found who are in fact 18 but appear to be 15 or 16. My experts tell me that certain of these adults earn quite a good living modeling for photos because of their youthful appearance.
Your problem again will come from unscrupulous and biased so called "experts" routinely retained by the government. These persons frequently arrive in court with a personal agenda resulting from possibly their own childhood sexual molestations, or have occupations which bring them into frequent contact with children who have been molested e.g. homeless shelters, facilities for runaway youths, etc. These persons will take the stand and swear under penalty of perjury that the image is that of a person under the legal age. Unless your attorney has the experts and resources to rebut this testimony, you are dead in the water. I have a stable of experts to counter this biased testimony.

Regarding the second possibility, morphing, where an adult was used for the photo which subsequently was changed digitally to produce the appearance of a younger person, the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the legality of possessing such images. My recommendation is not to possess these images until the High Court gives its OK.

STING OPERATIONS ONLINE

Another area where unsuspecting persons are entrapped by the police are sting operations designed to catch those persons who enjoy communicating with teenagers. If you enjoy communicating with teens here are some important rules: if the person is under the age of 18 do not discuss sexual matters with this person at all. Particularly if the person initiates a sexual conversation after identifying himself or herself as being under 18, immediately shift the conversation to non-sexual matters, and if the person persists, terminate the conversation and do not contact that person again. There is an overwhelming likelihood that the "youth" is a decoy cop trolling the net for unsuspecting persons.

If you wish to mentor a person under the age of 18 this must be done with the greatest of care. Do not, I repeat, do not agree to met this person if you have previously discussed sexual matters over the net. It is likely the person is a cop and you will be arrested and charged with "attempted child molestation" simply for showing up. To repeat, if you have previously discussed sexual matters over the net with person under the age of 18, stop immediately, wipe all traces of the conversation from your computer, terminate the relationship, and never, never agree to meet the person. (You are not out of the woods yet because the conversation is likely to be on the other person's computer which may be found by the teen's parents who are likely to call the police if in fact the computer doesn't belong to the police in the first place).

Suppose you truly desire to mentor a teenager you have met on the net who is under 18. (see footnot) Do not discuss sexual matters on the Web. Agree to meet in a public place, with many other persons around, such as a restaurant, and do not bring anything which might be construed by the government as "preparation" for a potential molest. Never, ever step over the boundary between mentor and lover even if the feelings are mutual. Remember, in most states in the US, the age of consent is 18; that means that the young person cannot legally consent to sexual relations and you, the adult, will be prosecuted.

If you unfortunately find yourself facing charges the law offices of Bruce Nickerson specialize in defending persons charged with this and related offenses provided that the complaining witness was a cop or a youth over the age of 14, and no coercion was involved.