UPDATED: Jurors say photos of nude teen were porn, not art

mysanantonio.com ^

[chance33_98]

UPDATED: Jurors say photos of nude teen were porn, not art

By Ihosvani Rodriguez Express-News Staff Writer

Web Posted : 06/26/2003 4:15 PM

If Benito Tovar considers himself an artist, then a jury essentially ordered him today to suffer for his art. The jury of six men and six woman, all of them parents, took less two hours today to proclaim the 33-year-old guilty of the two charges stemming from nude photographs he took of a 16-year-old on the River Walk about 1 ½ years ago.

Tovar and his attorneys insisted throughout the trial that the eight black and white photos, which depict the teen in often-bizarre postures, were indeed art. Jurors, however, told reporters and lawyers that they never considered it anything but pornography.

“In my eyes it was a minor who was completely nude, and it was disturbing to me from the moment I saw them,” juror Marc Villarreal said. “I think everyone in this jury agrees with me, and we never thought of it as art from the very beginning.”

Tovar, now officially convicted of inducing a sexual performance of a minor and possession of child pornography, could now face up to 10 years in prison. Tovar is automatically required to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life.

He will be sentenced Aug. 4 after District Judge Juanita Vasquez-Gardner receives a recommendation from investigators over what his punishment should be.

Tovar was led away in handcuffs as some of his family members wept.

While admitting to police that he knew the teen was a minor at the time of the photo shoot on Nov. 3, 2001, Tovar had maintained that his only intention was to make it an artistic venture and not a sexual experience.

Tovar and the teen were arrested after several people notified police of the spectacle on the River Walk.

At the center of the trial was the question of whether the teen was being “lewd” in the photographs. Although lewd is one of the criteria used in Texas law to define sexual performance, there is no clear definition for what is lewd.

Defense attorneys pointed out that the teen never touched himself in any of the photos and differed remarkably on the prosecutor’s definition of lewd.

“I would say that you can give these photos to a lot of people, and they would tell you that ‘This is not New York City. This is Texas. It looks like porn to me,’” defense attorney Fernando Cortes said. “Maybe this is not the type of art you like, but it certainly doesn't deserve conviction. It doesn't deserve going to prison for.”

In their closing, prosecutors Ina Minjarez and Michael Hoyle charged Tovar was only out to exploit the teen, and they blasted the notion that the photographs were art.

“If taking pictures of a 16-year-old in the middle of the River Walk in the middle of the day is not lewd, then what is?” Hoyle asked the jury. “These are not pictures you would buy. These are not pictures you would hang on top of a fireplace or show your family with pride. So if it is not art, then it's exploitation.”

After their verdict, jurors questioned Tovar’s court-appointed attorneys on why they never brought in an art expert to testify in their client’s behalf. Attorney David Cuellar said he was working under a limited budget and added that a number of local artists refused to lend their names to the controversial subject.

“The verdict was indicative of where we are living,” Cuellar told reporters. “It’s a Bible Belt area, and I think this verdict would’ve been different somewhere else.”

[DAnconia55]

If Benito Tovar considers himself an artist, then a jury essentially ordered him today to suffer for his art. The jury of six men and six woman, all of them parents, took less two hours today to proclaim the 33-year-old guilty of the two charges stemming from nude photographs he took of a 16-year-old on the River Walk about 1 ½ years ago.

Ridiculous.

[GSWarrior]

Yes,I'm sure that will happen...probably tomorrow. Maybe tonight.

[manic4organic]

Bye, bye, Benito, you perv.

[cherry]

“In my eyes it was a minor who was completely nude, and it was disturbing to me from the moment I saw them,” juror Marc Villarreal said. “I think everyone in this jury agrees with me, and we never thought of it as art from the very beginning.”

I wonder if the jury would be as disturbed if it was a 16 year old girl doing those poses...???

It seems our society can get disgusted and uppity about boy nudity but girl nudity is acceptable and rationalized .

girls and women can be used and abused but just don't hurt my boys....no siree.....

well, since the Supremes have now condonned homsexual practices, get used to seeing more teenage boys showing up nude in movies, books, tv, magazines, etc.....

Get used to seeing young boys and men being debased and manipulated and dehumanized for the sake of the homosexul, just as girls and woman have been for the hetero community....

[Dan from Michigan]

What kind of 16-year-old kid wants pictures taken of himself naked???

Good question.

[teancumspirit]

The subject was a young man at 16 years old.

[gaucho]

Posted: 2:01 p.m. CDT June 24, 2003
http://www.clickonsa.com/ant/news/stories/news-229078420030624-140609.html

SAN ANTONIO -- Jury selection started Tuesday in the trial of a 33-year-old man who took nude pictures of a 16-year-old boy on the River Walk.

Benito Tovar (pictured, left) is charged with inducing sexual performance of a child and possession of child pornography.

Tovar argues he was simply performing art when he took the pictures of the teenage boy in the King William section of the River Walk last fall. Police found pictures of the boy in Tovar's possession when he was arrested.

The defendant claimed he didn't know his subject was a teenager and wanted the boy in his photo shoot to establish a male presence to his portfolio.

According to Tovar, he met the boy on a bus and was supposed to meet several other people at the River Walk, but the boy was the only one who showed up.

A jury pool is expected to be filled Tuesday and testimony is scheduled to begin later Tuesday afternoon.

If Tovar is found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

[Husker24]

Yea, he doesnt deserve 10 years for this, its not like she was 8 or something. I say give him 6 months.

[thegreatbeast]

A nude isn't pornography. I'll bet dollars to donuts the 16 year old was sporting an erection in the pictures otherwise I don't see the guilty finding being delivered.
I don't know what happened to it but it used to be that an obscenity was something that offended "community standards" but I thought that went the way of the Dodo bird.
But you've got to picture this: a sixteen year old rampant male on the Riverwalk at midday. This ain't the Brooklyn Museum of Art and this guy ain't Robert Maplethorpe. The guy was asking for the Law to unload on him. Stupid b_st_rd.

[gaucho]

To me this doesn't sound like it's "child pornography" and was probably an attempt at art. I haven't seen any of his photographs, but based on a google search it appears that he does pictures of urban settings, people and pets.

Have you guys ever heard of photographer Spencer Tunick?

http://www.spencertunick.com/ (Warning - link contains nudity, but most definitely not porn)

Spencer does a lot of public nude photography, though his shoots are usually at off hours (mostly to keep the gawkers away) and can involve hundreds or thousands of nude people (of all ages). Some involve individuals or small groups. Spencer's photogrpahs are installed at major muesums around the world. Of course, he is a very established photographer, but there was a time 10 or so years ago that he wasn't, and even the NYPD tried to arrest him (charges where later dropped). Today, his photographic events are a pretty big deal in many large cities and they are usually done with location permits (just like if a movie was being filmed). Maybe Dallas's River Walk would be a good location for one ;-)

Also, children have been used as nude models over the ages by artists, but the PC element would brand an artist like Michealangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci a pervert and throw them in jail for 10-20 years today. Next time you see a classic chirstmas decoration of a partially dressed angel cherub, remember that some child likely posed for the original representation of that ornament. Is the sculptur who created that a pervert? Does that make the owner of it a pervert?

God created all of us and the human body is something that is reflected in religious paintings over the years. If you go to the Vatican, you will see paintings that would likely be considered pornography by some in the US, but they are really a celebration of humanity and goodness. I'll leave it up to an Art History major to touch on the rest of the symbolism.

But as the article says, it was in Dallas TX and not in NYC (where I'm from).

[apackof2]

What kinda freakazoid takes pictures...

How many kinds freakazoid are there?

[CobaltBlue]

I would argue that nudity and pornography are not necessarily the same thing. There is, of course, an overlap, but pornography is intended to arouse the carnal appetites, to go straight to the crotch.

Nudity may be merely high class porn, but it's the type of thing you can see in a museum, while porn has a place in the back room if it's antique and otherwise no place in the museum.

Hard to draw the line but you "know it when you see it."

I am thinking at the moment of lascivious Greek pottery, showing satyrs and other males in a "rampant" state as was used by an earlier poster, some chasing nymphs and hetarae, some chasing each other.

Back in the old days you could get away with almost anything as long as you printed it in Latin, Greek, or another foreign language that only the toffs could read.

Stuff that was aimed at the ordinary blokes in the gutter wasn't protected.

These days almost anything goes, but there are still limits.

[PAR35]

You are right. I hit your name, rather than the name of the person who was replying to you.

[Alouette]

“The verdict was indicative of where we are living,” Cuellar told reporters. “It’s a Bible Belt area, and I think this verdict would’ve been different somewhere else.”

Uh, yeah, in Saudi Arabia he would have probably gotten a death sentence.