WASHINGTON – Danilo Simoes Croce, 42, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, was arrested in Orlando, Fla. on charges of conspiracy to distribute obscene matters, the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced today. If convicted, Croce faces up to five years in prison and a $150,000 fine.
According to documents filed in the District Court in Orlando, Croce and his corporation, Lex Multimedia, operated web sites offering obscene videos for download or delivery in the U.S. The videos depicted bukkake, fisting, and depictions of defecation, urination, and vomiting in conjunction with sex acts. These web sites are being hosted on web servers in Texas. Croce’s videos are delivered to his U.S. customers by mail and common carriers from a location in Orlando, Fla.
“The investigative efforts in this case not only fully endorse the Postal Inspection Service’s commitment to the Attorney General’s initiative against hard core pornography, it sends a loud message to those involved that they operate at enormous risk of apprehension,” said Henry Gutierrez, Inspector-in-Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Miami.
An arrest is not proof of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless he is found guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Richard D. Green and Matthew Buzzelli of the Obscenity Prosecution Task Force within the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg of the U.S. Attorneys’ Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The obscenity investigation is being led the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Investigative assistance was also provided by agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security from Orlando, Fla.
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