Arizona Radio Station Advises Listeners How Not to Get Busted for Possession of Child Porn
A radio station is under investigation in Arizona after residents launched a petition against it over its advice on child porn. For the past two years, Cave 97.7FM has been broadcasting a public service announcement (PSA) during midnight telling its listeners to keep images of naked children away from sight.
The PSA described Arizona's tough penalties for possession of child porn and then provided advice on hiding potential evidence. The message was created and voiced by station owner and manager Paul Lotsof who expressed disagreement with the state's child porn laws.
Lotsof claims he doesn't condone child porn but thinks the 10-year minimum sentence is draconian. "My feeling is that these people don't deserve life in prison just because they have pictures of naked juveniles," he said. The oldies country music station broadcasts from Benson in southeast Arizona, and its signal reaches as far as the Mexico border.
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Instead of storing photos and similar material on a computer hard drive, listeners are better off using an external drive which they should hide where nobody will ever find, the PSA said. It also advised against keeping printed pictures, tapes or films of naked juveniles to save themselves and their family "a ton of grief."
The PSA sparked uproar from furious residents who issued a petition calling for the station's closure. But the Federal Communication Commission said there is no regulation that expressly articulates what can or cannot be broadcast as part of a PSA. The petition has gathered 1,392 signatures as of press time.
Sheriff Mark Daniels said in a statement that he is very disturbed that a member of the local media which should provide factual information to the public to keep them safe "is promoting and encouraging criminal behavior." He added that his office will continue to seek legal advice to make sure that the PSA is not aired again.
