Couple Guilty of Sending Pornography by Computer

A husband and wife were convicted Thursday of distributing pornography via computer in a case that raised questions about how to apply federal obscenity law to the information superhighway.

Robert and Carleen Thomas, both 38, of Milpitas, Calif., were each convicted of 11 counts of transmitting obscenity through interstate phone lines via their members-only computer bulletin board. Each count carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Thomases remain free on $20,000 bail. No sentencing date was set.

During the trial, jurors were shown photographs carried over the Thomases’ bulletin board featuring scenes of bestiality and other sexual fetishes. The images were available, for a fee, to computer users around the world.

A postal inspector said he joined the bulletin board under a fake name and received sexually explicit pictures in his computer in Memphis.

The defense argued that prosecutors had shopped around for a place to try the case, looking for a city where a more conservative jury might be found. It raised questions about a 1973 Supreme Court ruling that obscenity must be judged according to local community standards.