Feds form unit to probe hard-core porn

Pro-family groups are applauding the Department of Justice's decision to form an Obscenity Prosecution Task Force committed to investigating and prosecuting distributors of hard-core pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray made the announcement Thursday.

"We are extremely pleased with Attorney General Gonzales' commitment to prosecute obscenity," said Randy Sharp, director of special projects for American Family Association. "The establishment of a dedicated Task Force puts distributors of obscenity on notice that the Justice Department is serious about enforcing the law."

Sharp said his Christian organization wants to help the new task force get off to a good start by recommending it investigate the nation's largest retail distributor of XXX films.

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"Video store chain Movie Gallery and its chairman Joe Malugen have long been purveyors of hard-core porn in hundreds of small towns across America," Sharp said.

Several Criminal Division sections will contribute to the task force, including the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section, the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

The CEOS's High-Tech Investigative Unit also will support the Task Force with its computer and forensic expertise of the Internet.

"It is equally critical that the Justice Department be aggressive in their approach to obscenity in the area of technology," Sharp added.

"The Internet, and now wireless phones, put our children at risk because parents are virtually helpless in stemming the sheer volume of porn directed at their children," he said. "The good news is that most of this smut is controlled by relatively few companies and individuals."

Jan LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, noted pedophiles commonly use adult obscenity to seduce children.

"At a time when reports of sex crimes committed by pedophiles seem to be increasing, targeting illegal obscenity must be a priority in efforts to curb the number of these tragedies," she said.

"Prosecution of this illegal material deserves the DOJ's highest attention and their best resources," LaRue stated. "The DOJ's announcement of this new task force should indicate to pornographers across the country that their illegal activity is being taken more seriously."