Grand Jury Indicts Barnes & Noble for Books Depicting Nude Children

A grand jury indicted the nation’s largest bookseller, Barnes & Noble, on child pornography charges involving the sale of books by noted photographers whose work includes pictures of nude children.

State Atty. Gen. Bill Pryor said Wednesday that he started the investigation after receiving complaints about two books: “The Age of Innocence” by French photographer David Hamilton and “Radiant Identities” by San Francisco photographer Jock Sturges.

The indictment accuses the New York-based company of disseminating “obscene material containing visual reproduction of persons under 17 years of age involved in obscene acts.”

Barnes & Noble Senior Vice President Mary Ellen Keating said officials had not yet seen the indictment and could not comment.

But she said: “Although Barnes & Noble may not personally endorse all books that we sell, we respect the right of individuals to make decisions about what they buy . . . we ask that our customers respect our right to bring to the American public the widest selection.”

A Tennessee grand jury returned an indictment against the chain over the same books in November.

Sturges, reached at his studio, said Pryor will waste a lot of taxpayers’ money on the prosecution because the photographs “are not done flirtatiously” and have been displayed in major museums.