Media Release -- Christopher Handley, the collector of manga who pleaded guilty to possession of obscene visual representations of minors engaged in sexual conduct, was sentenced to six months in federal prison last week. The CBLDF was brought in at the middle of the case to provide expert witnesses for the defense, which were unfortunately not called upon, as Handley entered a guilty plea under the advice of his counsel before the case saw trial. The CBLDF has previously expressed disappointment with that development.
In addition to his prison sentence, Handley also forfeits his computer, the manga in question, and $200. ICv2 reports: "The jail time will be followed by three years of supervised release on that count. During the supervised release Handley is to participate in a treatment program to include psychological testing and a polygraph examination."
ICv2 adds, "Handley was sentenced to five years of probation on the 'mailing obscene matter' count, which will run concurrently with the supervised release to the degree the sentences overlap."
Sentencing documents made public last week reveal beyond the shadow of a doubt that Chris Handley represented no threat to his community. Character evidence indicates that he is a devoted son, who served in the United States Navy, until he was discharged for medical reasons, and then went on to develop a successful career as a computer programmer. His primary activities outside of work consisted of Bible fellowship and participating in the anime and manga culture by reading comics and engaging in online gaming. Handley had no criminal history and showed no behaviors indicating he was a threat to members of his community. Anime News Network has a detailed overview of court documents.
A key point in the government's sentencing argument hinged on Handley's confused sexuality, and the point that despite showing no history and little likelihood of posing harm to real people that "he is in strong need of deterrence and supervision." Despite the fact that no evidence was found that Handley posed a threat to other people, the government still successfully argued that he is to be sentenced to time in prison and to undergo extensive psychiatric evaluation and treatment because of the content of his thoughts, not because of any actual criminal behavior.
Talking to The Comics Reporter, CBLDF Executive Director Charles Brownstein said, "The only victim in this case is Handley himself, who has been found guilty of a kind of thought crime. It's a sad day when an American is put in prison because of his taste in art and fiction. It is our fervent hope that no one else should suffer that same fate. Our prayers are with Christopher and his family in the trying months ahead."
A full analysis of the case and sentencing will be published in this space later in the week.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund was founded in 1986 as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of First Amendment rights for members of the comics community.
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