Bush-era porn prosecution ends in guilty plea.

• Author: Sullum, Jacob
• Position: Follow-Up

When Mary Beth Buchanan, the U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania, accused Robert Zicari and Janet Romano of distributing obscene material in 2003, it was the first time in more than a decade that the federal government had prosecuted anyone for producing pornography involving adults. Buchanan picked her target carefully. As Grog Beato noted in his May 2004 reason story "Xtreme Measures," Zicari and Romano, a.k.a. Rob Black and Lizzie Borden, were "known for producing material that even fellow pornographers find objectionable," including simulated rape. Beato described the output of their studio, Extreme Associates, as "explicit porn coupled with the over-the-top gore of slasher movies and the stunts and gross-out spectacles of reality TV."

Facing possible prison sentences of up to 50 years, Zicari and Romano fought the charges. "We will not go away," Zicari said in a 2004 BBC documentary. "We will not back down. We will not cop a plea." But that is what they ended up doing after more than four years of litigation. In March, just before their trial was finally scheduled to begin, Zicari and Romano each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute obscene materials. Sentencing is scheduled for July 1, and they could face up to five years in prison.

"The materials produced by Extreme Associates were so far across the line between...