The seven-page document details the formation of an FBI (anti) obscenity squad, a lengthy farewell to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose tenure breathed new life into obscenity prosecution with the case against Rob Zicari and Extreme Associates and the activities of the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
Editor Taylor worked for the DOJ from 1989 to 1994 as a special attorney for the National Obscenity Enforcement Unit, and then as an attorney for the CEOS. He prosecuted nearly 100 state and federal obscenity jury cases during the elder Bush Administration, including numerous trials on prostitution, child pornography and child sexual abuse.
Prior to being “quietly” rehired by the DOJ last year, Taylor, who pursued charges against Reuben Sturman in the 1980s, founded the conservative National Law Center for Children and Families in the next decade. Taylor also advised on the creation of the recently-announced Obscenity Prosecution Task Force.
The Obscenity Prosecution News was published by the criminal division of the DOJ rather than the CEOS, which had previously been the coordinating authority of federal obscenity prosecution for matters involving adults and minors.
The newsletter referred to three symposia held between May and September of last year, to which members of the adult industry were not invited, where district attorneys and local law enforcement officials could engage in “sharing, training and updates on law, technology and criminal procedure.”
Taylor, rehired by Ashcroft prior to the latter’s resignation, has helped prosecute more than 700 obscenity courses in his career.
