Books and Videos of Simulated Torture of Children Are Seized

The operator of a Hollywood mail order pornography firm was charged Thursday with 10 misdemeanor counts of distributing obscene material after the seizure of books and videos at his residence, many of which depicted the simulated sexual torture and murder of children, officials said.

Among the obscene videos allegedly distributed by Gary Jerome Levinson, 38, were ones with such titles as “Little Boy Snuffed,” “Kiddie Killer” and “Animal Sex,” said Deputy City Atty. Michael Guarino.

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been prosecuting obscenity for 10 years,” Guarino said.

Levinson’s attorney, William Greysen, countered in a telephone interview that “this is a relatively minor case,” and that the city attorney’s office is “trying to make headlines (by) hounding my client, who is a first offender.”

Greysen said Levinson was willing to settle the case by terminating his 10-year-old pornography business and making horror movies instead. However, Greysen added, the city attorney’s office rejected the offer and filed the charges in an effort to send his client to jail.

An arrest warrant was issued Thursday for Levinson, who Greysen said was out of town on vacation. The attorney said he would advise his client to surrender “and take it to trial” when he returns.

“I think it is absurd for an attorney to characterize materials that feature the torture and murder of children as relatively minor violations of the obscenity law,” Guarino responded.

The misdemeanor charges were filed, the prosecutor said, based on evidence seized Dec. 21 in a raid on Levinson’s 1521 N. Wilcox Ave. residence in which videos, an 1,110-name customer mailing list and a 40-page catalogue for Levinson’s company, Fischer Publications, were seized.