Florida- A judge in Santa Rosa County sentenced a former local pornographer today to 48 months in prison.
Clinton “Ray Guhn” McCowen, 47, of Navarre, pleaded guilty in June to unlawful financial transactions.
Circuit Judge Ron Swanson also sentenced McCowan’s co-workers at today’s hearing. Andrew Craft, 40, was given 34 1/2 months in prison, while Kevin Patrick Stevens, 38, got 40 months in prison. Both previously pleaded guilty to racketeering charges.
McCowen’s mother sobbed as she hugged her husband William and court security guards placed handcuffs around her son’s wrists.
“We’re sorry that this happened,” William McCowen said outside the Santa Rosa County Courthouse. “We thought they were extreme on the punishment.”
Craft’s fiancee cried quietly in the back of the courtroom and daubed her eyes with a tissue as deputies led him from the courtroom. She did not wish to comment.
In court, Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar played videos and showed multiple still images culled from the subscription Web site. Edgar believed the site contained obscene material, not protected by the Constitution, based on the community standards of the First Judicial Circuit of Florida, which encompasses Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties.
“Ray Guhn Productions” featured a Web site with between 4,000 and 8,000 subscribers who could view films featuring group sex and other genre-specific sex acts for $30 a month.
The company made more than $10 million in profits in its five years of operation, according to Edgar.
The films were produced at homes throughout Pensacola and Pace; at least five hotels in Pensacola; on the public portions of Pensacola Beach; the Blackwater River; in a moving vehicle along Interstate 10 and Interstate 110; and in wooded areas.
McCowen owned the company. Stevens, a producer and Web technician, said he left the company a year before the investigation began. Craft recruited models, scouted locations for shoots and paid the models.
It’s estimated that about 100 local men and women participated in the production of the material featured on the site. Many were expected to testify at trial before the trio reached an agreement with the prosecution.