DALLAS, May 27 (UPI) -- Three men have been indicted in Dallas for allegedly selling videotapes of rape and sexual torture on the Internet, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Clarence Thomas Gartman and Brent Alan McDowell were charged with conspiracy to distribute obscene materials, transportation of obscene matter and mailing obscene matter. Lou Anthony Santilena was charged with conspiracy to distribute obscene materials and mailing obscene matter.
Gartman and McDowell are U.S. citizens residing in Canada, and the department is in the process of seeking their return to Dallas. Santilena is a resident of Henderson, Nev., and will be required to face the charges in Dallas.
According to the indictment, beginning in 1998, Gartman and McDowell maintained a collection of sites on the Internet, including a Web site named "forbiddenvideos.com." Santilena joined the operation in 2002.
The Web sites were used to advertise and distribute allegedly obscene video tapes, CDs, DVDs and streaming video depicting rape scenes and sexual torture.
