Local News in Brief : Man Guilty of Obscenity

A Hollywood man was convicted Thursday of federal obscenity charges for using the mail to sell videotapes depicting bestiality and sadomasochism.

Jurors deliberated less than an hour before convicting Gary J. Levinson, 38, of three counts of mailing obscene material. Levinson had been scheduled to plead guilty to two of the charges last week, but he disappeared. His two-day trial was conducted without him.

Doing business as Fisher Publications, Levinson mailed a sex videotape brochure and two videotapes to an undercover agent who paid $233 by mail in November, 1987.

Defense attorney William Graysen contended that the government failed to prove that the tapes were legally obscene. “These materials were never distributed to anyone who didn’t request them,” he said. “They did not use children in the films. They did not commit criminal acts. . . . It was play-acting.”

U.S. District Judge Laughlin Waters has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Levinson, who faces up to 15 years in prison, plus the possibility of increased prison time for fleeing.

Levinson was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $14,000 earlier this month on a similar case in state court but was released on bail pending appeal.