BARTOW, Florida -- The defense team for Christopher Wilson called Tuesday upon a Lakeland-based appellate court to free the accused Internet pornographer from the Polk County Jail.
Wilson is known for operating a controversial Web site from his Lakeland apartment, which garnered national attention for giving soldiers free access to pornography in exchange for posting pictures from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The 28-year-old former Eagle Lake police officer was arrested Oct. 7 on 301 obscenity-related charges. Until last week, Wilson had been free on $151,000 bail.
But prosecutors requested last month that Wilson's bail be revoked because his Web site continued to operate.
Wilson, who now lives in Orange County, said in a sworn affidavit that he was never told that continuing to operate his Web site from outside Polk County would put him at risk of going to jail.
Upon learning of this, Wilson stated that he took steps to get rid of the sexual content.
After reviewing a sample of the site's content, Circuit Judge J. Dale Durrance revoked Wilson's bail Dec. 16, finding there was probable cause to think the pictures were obscene.
Durrance ordered that Wilson be held without bail until his trial.
Lawrence Walters, an Orlando lawyer representing Wilson, said he filed an emergency petition Tuesday with the 2nd District Court of Appeal to free Wilson.
The defense's court papers describe Wilson's incarceration as "unlawful and unconstitutional" as well as "a novel and outrageous assault on fundamental constitutional rights."
The sexually explicit material is presumed protected by the First Amendment until a jury determines that it is obscene, the court records state.
The overall effect of taking away Wilson's bail is equal to "prior restraint" and "prior punishment," the records state. Even if Wilson wins at trial, his lawyers argue that prosecutors were still able to punish Wilson by putting him in jail until his trial. In addition, other Web site operators would have no choice but to close down rather than risk being sent to jail.
"This case illustrates one of the clearest and most egregious examples of how the obscenity statute can be misused by law enforcement seeking to interfere with First Amendment rights," the records state.
In addition to granting or denying Wilson's request for freedom, the 2nd DCA could also request that Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist's office respond to the issues raised by the defense before making a decision.
