Abby Winters offices raided - Garion arrested

[nation-x]

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sto...0-2862,00.html

Keith Moor

June 16, 2009 12:00am

POLICE raided a Melbourne porn business that makes up to $10 million a year from allegedly illegal activities.

Detectives raided five premises as part of Operation Refuge, seizing computers containing footage of women allegedly performing explicit sex acts, which are illegal to produce in Victoria.

They are also investigating allegations that some of the models on the porn company's website are under age.

Police raided the Fitzroy head office of G Media - which runs a porn website - in the early morning raids, and arrested its director, Garion Hall, at his Heidelberg home.

Two storage facilities and another office were part of the Fitzroy raids.

Computer records and explicit DVDs allegedly containing material too graphic to be legally made in Victoria were among items seized.

It is illegal to profit from making porn films in Victoria.

It is believed Mr Hall denies any wrongdoing.

Yesterday's raids came after the Herald Sun provided police with a dossier of information about the allegedly illegal porn G Media, and companies associated with it, have churned out in Melbourne since about 2000.

G Media is believed to receive about $30 a month from 30,000 subscribers to its website, which contains more than 370,000 explicit images and almost 4000 sex videos.

The company specialises in filming female teenage students and backpackers in Melbourne and has explicit photographs and videos of almost 1200 young women on its website, many listed as being aged 18 and 19.

Police have seen a copy of a driver's licence of one G Media nude model, allegedly showing she was 17 when photographed. It is not known if Mr Hall knew of her age.

Detectives from Yarra CIU questioned Mr Hall yesterday while the police e-crime squad began sifting through mountains of electronic material seized during the raids.

Mr Hall, 34, was released last night, but possibly faces charges of making objectionable films for gain, which carries a maximum jail term of two years.

Each of G Media's 30 employees could also be charged with the same offence.

Yarra CIU Sen-Det Steven Boskovski said police were likely to make more arrests.

"We're still identifying the hierarchy involved," he said. "We're very satisfied with the content we've secured."

The Herald Sun provided police with written information that allegedly reveals Mr Hall was warned by experts in 2007 that G Media's activities were likely to be in breach of state and federal laws.

One former G Media employee, Steen Vestergaard, has claimed in court documents that before he accepted a job he was assured the sex films he would be producing were legal.

Mr Vestergaard later sought his own legal advice and was told the films were too explicit to be legally made in Victoria and that he was liable to be prosecuted if he continued to produce them.

Former G Media model Liandra Dahl said the company used cash-in-hand payments to lure teenagers into performing prohibited sex acts on camera.

"It is utterly unethical to mislead very young people into choices that could affect their entire life," she said.

G Media uses posters stuck on traffic lights and poles near popular pubs and nightclubs to entice budding nude models to contact them.

A G Media poster in Chapel St, Prahran, offers females up to $800 cash on the day of the shoot and provides contact details for more information.

[nate]

It must be wonderful to live in a country where murder and theft have been eradicated, leaving the police with time to arrest people that film other people doing dirty things with their mouths, sex organs and anuses. God, the Austrailians must be proud.

But seiuously folks, dont you fuckers down their have a constitution with a bill of rights ensuring your freedom of expression?

[Toby]

Originally Posted by nate

...dont you fuckers down their have a constitution with a bill of rights ensuring your freedom of expression?

No, they do not.

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

We don't have a bill of rights here...

[ArtWilliams]

Most "Westminster style" parliamentary democracies don't have constitutions or a bill of rights. Parliament rules the day. Even ones that do like Canada explicitly say that any rights are subject to "reasonable limits" that Parliament may impose. Thank Gawd we have a big Quebecois [French Canadian] influence on our legal system and Government. Quebec always wants a more "let it be" philosophy when it comes to civil liberties. It was out of Montreal that the court cases came that ultimately allowed for on-premises swinging in Canada. Unless it involved CP or forced sex, I don't think you'd get a conviction for porn today in Canada.

What I don't understand is Australian politics. I thought they got rid of the conservative Prime Minister who was in bed with Bush and put in a more moderate government. Mind you, if the above is a CP issue then that is another matter. None-the-less, all this arbitrary web site blocking we've read about in other threads should be of great concern to all Australians.

Originally Posted by nate

It must be wonderful to live in a country where murder and theft have been eradicated, leaving the police with time to arrest people that film other people doing dirty things with their mouths, sex organs and anuses. God, the Austrailians must be proud.

But seiuously folks, dont you fuckers down their have a constitution with a bill of rights ensuring your freedom of expression?

[walrus]

Lets try this again

Interesting people are more concerned about aussie politics than this item

Police have seen a copy of a driver's licence of one G Media nude model, allegedly showing she was 17 when photographed. It is not known if Mr Hall knew of her age.

[Wazza]

There's a reason I never attempted to become one of AW's exclusive 150 wms...

This was going to happen sooner or later...

Especially when you can see the Melbourne city skyline in the bg of some of their sets...

There's a reason I've never produced / commissioned anything...

[MeatPounder]

Police have seen a copy of a driver's licence of one G Media nude model, allegedly showing she was 17 when photographed. It is not known if Mr Hall knew of her age.

Not sure about on websites but as far as the legal age of consent in australia, almost everywhere 17 is not a problem (though I think it is 18 for anal sex throughout the country)

Country Male-Female Sex Male-Male Sex Female-Female Sex
Australia ACT 16 16 16
Australia NSW & Norfolk Is. 16 16 16
Australia NT 16 16 16
Australia Queensland1 16/18 18 16
Australia SA 17 17 17
Australia Tasmania 17 17 17
Australia Victoria 16 16 16
Australia WA 16 16 16

Think more of the problem (as Wazza alluded to) is
Computer records and explicit DVDs allegedly containing material too graphic to be legally made in Victoria were among items seized.

It is illegal to profit from making porn films in Victoria.

[Wazza]

That is the age of consent Meatpounder - not the age of majority - which is 18 across the board

[MeatPounder]

Ahhh
Like it is legal for kids to have sex at 14 here in the states in some places (like Indianna)

[nation-x]

Garion made a statement: http://www.somebodythinkofthechildre...ues-statement/

June 16, 2009 – 11:52 pm

The director of G Media, Garion Hall, has issued a statement about a police raid on his company this week.

Hall said yesterday morning (Monday 15 June, 2009) Victoria Police acted on a warrant to search the premises of the adult web business AbbyWinters.com. The raid was instigated by a tabloid journalist from the Herald Sun. The journalist has written about AbbyWinters.com in the past, trying to encourage authorities to act.

Hall said no charges have been laid by the police and that no hardware was seized. Police were supplied with copies of all information that they requested and they (the police) were polite and amiable.

He appreciates the support of Eros, staff, website members and models, and is hopeful of a successful outcome.

Eros Executive Officer, Fiona Patten, told me that Eros fully supports their long term member and their right to provide non-violent erotica.

[Ms Naughty]

No consistutional right to freedom of speech in Australia. The government "classifies" all filmed and written material. X-rated material is only legal in the territories. And Victorian law states that it is illegal to make an "objectionable film."

There is no definition of "objectionable" as such although the usual "community standards" stuff comes into it. If this does go to court I'm hoping they can set a precedent and get this nonsense off the law books.

The whole thing has come about because the newspaper instigated it and took a "dossier" to the police who presumably would have left well alone otherwise. 2 years ago the same paper ran a hack piece which alleged Abby Winters was mistreating models. Their sole source appears to have been a disgruntled ex-model but plenty of others came forward to defend AW. This raid is obviously the result of the newspaper's campaign against the site and the work of that one disgruntled ex-model.

I've actually always considered AW to be a very good site because of the respectful way they've treated their models. No other affiliate program is as rigourous in making sure that positive language is used.

Of course, if they have used underage models then the raid is appropriate. But I get the feeling that the allegation has been made up to get the raid on its feet.

The whole thing is pretty damned disturbing to be honest. I'm wondering if this will trigger raids in other states so the cops look like they are "doing something." This despite the fact that most Australians do not have a problem with porn.

Artwilliams, we were supposed to get a less-conservative government but that has gone a bit pear shaped. The prime minister is a happy clapper.

Maybe it's time I moved to Amsterdam.

[ArtWilliams]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

The prime minister is a happy clapper.

Had to look that one up!

happy clapper = seriously religious person

I learned a new word today!

[Ms Naughty]

Sorry, using my slang again. "Happy clapper" originally meant someone who attends evangelical churches, speaks in tongues, does that whole clapping along thing. The PM isn't quite that bad but he does go to church every week and is quite religious, which in Australia is unusual.

So... no charges laid, no hardware taken. I wonder if the Herald Sun will continue on its crusade?

[Wazza]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

I wonder if the Herald Sun will continue on its crusade?

The H.UN knows a good beat up when it sees one... it'll be flogging this for a bit imo...

[Toni KatVixen]

Originally Posted by MeatPounder

Ahhh
Like it is legal for kids to have sex at 14 here in the states in some places (like Indianna)

Actually for Indiana it is 16.

It is considered sexual misconduct if they are 14.

IC 35-42-4-9 Sexual misconduct with a minor Sec. 9. (a) A person at least eighteen (18) years of age who, with a child at least fourteen (14) years of age but less than sixteen (16) years of age

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of...merica#Indiana

I used to live there, so I knew that didn't sound right.

[whitey]

Originally Posted by grandmascrotum

Sorry, using my slang again. "Happy clapper" originally meant someone who attends evangelical churches, speaks in tongues, does that whole clapping along thing. The PM isn't quite that bad but he does go to church every week and is quite religious, which in Australia is unusual.

So... no charges laid, no hardware taken. I wonder if the Herald Sun will continue on its crusade?

All of this, however, should not be unexpected in the country that blocks more internet sites (censors) than any other country sans China - and maybe Iran these days.

I am seriously wondering what is up in Australia these days as it seems considerably less free than some supposed "totalitarian" states. That saddens me because on my travels there, people seemed to be generally laid back and of the live and let live contingent.

[centrerelax]

Good News

[burntfilm]

I never knew that they were such hard asses down there in re. adult in general. wow.