Commonwealth v. Rex
Annotate this CaseWhile conducting a search of the cell of Defendant, an inmate, correctional officers found seven photocopies of photographs that depicted naked children. The photographs were excerpted from a National Geographic magazine, a sociology textbook, and a naturist catalogue. Defendant moved to dismiss his ensuing indictments of child pornography and of being a habitual offender, arguing that the photocopies of the photographs did not constitute child pornography within the meaning of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, 29C. The superior court allowed the motion to dismiss on the basis that none of the photocopies constituted a “lewd exhibition” of the children’s body parts as described in the statute. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed, holding that the photocopies did not depict a “lewd exhibition,” and therefore, the judge properly dismissed the indictments on the ground that the grand jury were not presented with any evidence to support a finding of probable cause to arrest Defendant for possession of child pornography.
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