Dennis Capstick, who ran a website from his home, told the court he imported gay DVDs from the U.S., copied them and sold the content throughout England without a license.
Capstick said he made a profit of almost $6 per DVD.
Alex Lynn, the prosecutor who charged Capstick with nine counts of offering unclassified videos for sale and one count of selling adult material without a license, said authorities seized a range of gay titles, including “Hot Sweaty Knights,” “KC and Billy’s Wild Adventures” and “Bareback Fantasies.”
Adult material is legal in England, but it may only be sold through licensed sex shops. There are no licensed sex shops in Capstick’s Harrogate district of Yorkshire.
Capstick was not charged with piracy or copyright infringement.
Capstick’s attorney Clive Farndon asked the court to treat his client with mercy, saying that the illegal enterprise was “fairly modest” and that the man had only broken the law to cope with massive personal debt.
But Lynn told the court that in the eight months Capstick had operated his home distribution operation, he made more than $33,000.
In addition to the fine and community service, the judge ordered that Capstick’s computer be seized.