From: writer1037@aol.com (Writer1037) Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories Subject: Re: Baker prevails. Date: 23 Jun 1995 09:39:34 -0400 Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364) Lines: 145 Sender: root@newsbf02.news.aol.com Message-ID: <3seg6m$sn6@newsbf02.news.aol.com> References: <3sd2ho$jg5@newsbf02.news.aol.com> Reply-To: writer1037@aol.com (Writer1037) A.S.S. readers: Here's two news stories about Jake Baker from the AP and Knight-Ridder news services: Judge Dismisses Charges in Internet Fantasy Case Eds: Note contents of grafs 11-12 By AMY YUHN Associated Press Writer DETROIT (AP) _ A college student's Internet message about the fantasy kidnapping and torture-murder of a classmate isn't illegal, it's ``only a rather savage and tasteless piece of fiction,'' a judge ruled. Finding that the electronic musings of former University of Michigan student Jake Baker were protected by free speech, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn dismissed federal criminal charges against him. Baker, 21, had been charged with five counts of transmitting a threat to kidnap or injure by electronic mail. Each count is punishable by up to five years in prison. He was arrested in February after a University of Michigan alumnus read his story depicting the rape-slaying of another student on the Internet worldwide computer network. In his ruling Wednesday, Cohn said Baker's story about a fellow student, whose name has never been made public, would have been better handled as a disciplinary matter by the university. ``The government's enthusiastic beginning petered out to a salvage effort once it recognized that the communication which so much alarmed the University of Michigan officials was only a rather savage and tasteless piece of fiction,'' Cohn wrote. In addition to putting the fantasy on the Internet, Baker exchanged e-mail with another man about the tale, prosecutors said. Prosecutors argued that Baker's e-mail evolved from ``shared fantasies to a firm plan of action.'' But defense lawyers argued that Baker's writings were protected free speech, and Cohn agreed. The judge said ``musings, considerations of what it would be like to kidnap or injure someone, or desires to kidnap or injure someone'' do not violate the Constitution unless some intent to commit the acts is expressed. Cohn also said it was important to note that the exchanges between Baker and a man identified as Arthur Gonda were private and since Gonda has never been found, there is no way of knowing whether the threats could have been carried out. Baker sent Gonda a message in December saying in part, ``I want to do it to a really young girl first. ... There (sic) innocence makes them so much more fun _ and they'll be easier to control. What do you think?'' Gonda responds: ``I would love to do a 13 or 14 year old. I think you are right ... not only their innocence but their young bodies would really be fun to hurt.'' Neither Baker nor his attorney, Douglas Mullkoff of Ann Arbor, immediately returned messages seeking comment Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Saul Green said he may appeal. The university suspended Baker after he was charged. He moved to his mother's home in Boardman, Ohio, and withdrew from the school. University spokeswoman Kim Clarke said Wednesday the ruling was unrelated to the school's disciplinary action. Paul Denenfeld, legal director for the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, praised the ruling, adding that any attempt to restrict Internet or e-mail transmissions should be seen as a threat to free speech. ``We don't want people standing trial and potentially going to prison for thoughts and fantasies they have,'' he said. Internet rape story writer's charges dismissed; violent intent wasn't proven By Jim Schaefer and Maryanne George Knight-Ridder Newspapers DETROIT _ A federal judge in Detroit on Wednesday tossed out criminal charges against Internet rape story author Jake Baker, saying the government butted into what should have remained a University of Michigan disciplinary case. In a 32-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn called Baker's jailing for 29 days earlier this year ``disturbing'' and ``inexplicable,'' saying three psychological evaluations before the FBI arrested him concluded the 21-year-old student showed no potential for violence. Cohn also slammed government prosecutors, saying they tried to salvage a case they knew could not be won. The judge's ruling followed a motion filed by Baker's attorney, Douglas Mullkoff, asking that five charges of transmitting threats be dismissed because Baker's violent Internet writings were protected as free speech. The government had argued that threats are not protected. Mullkoff and Baker, who is living with his mother in Ohio and attending a new school, could not be reached for comment. U.S. Attorney Saul Green issued a terse response to Cohn's ruling, saying his office's push to prosecute Baker was ``absolutely'' worthwhile. ``We strongly disagree with the court's reasoning in the decision,'' said Green, who at one point had a team of prosecutors making recommendations on the case. He said he would decide in a day or two whether to request permission from his superiors to appeal. The lead FBI agent, Greg Stejskal, said Cohn's decision that Baker's writings lacked intent made him worry. ``As a husband and a father of a daughter it looks like a threat to me,'' Stejskal said. Susan McGee, executive director of the Domestic Violence Project in Washtenaw County, Mich., said the ruling ``shows the judicial system in the United States is more interested in men's rights to torture, beat and harass women than it is in women's right to live their lives in peace and safety.'' Baker gained notoriety in February after the University of Michigan began disciplinary proceedings against him for writing a fictional story about raping and murdering a named female student. Baker posted it in an area reserved for sex stories on the Internet, a computer network with millions of users worldwide. In early February, the FBI stepped in and Baker was the first person to be criminally charged with transmitting threats through the Internet. The government said he was a threat, and a magistrate judge ordered him jailed without bond. Cohn released Baker March 10 after another psychological evaluation. On March 15, the government steered away from pursuing a prosecution based on the story about the classmate, instead going after him for private electronic mail he exchanged with someone named Arthur Gonda. The mail included discussions of abducting and torturing young girls. Baker and Gonda, who sent messages through a computer company in Canada, were charged with transmitting threats. Gonda has not been found, and it's unclear if that is a real name. Cohn said the exchanges were not threats but fantasy, intended to be private and directed at no one in particular. Under the law, the government had to prove Baker intended to carry out a threat. Cohn said the government had not done that because, among other things, intent must be proven by looking at the defendant's overall behavior rather than trying to figure out what he's thinking. Though one of the reports on Baker says he claims 10 personalities, internal demons and has said he would hurt someone if asked to in a sexual relationship, Cohn said the evidence showed Baker had faults, and should be faulted, but that he had not been violent. He said the government knew how weak the case was against Baker and tried to save it with the five new charges in March. Those charges had nothing to do with the original story that raised so much furor. ``The government's enthusiastic beginning petered out to a salvage effort once it recognized that the communication which so much alarmed the University of Michigan officials was only a rather savage and tasteless piece of fiction,'' Cohn wrote. The American Civil Liberties Union, which had argued in favor of dismissing the charges, applauded Wednesday's decision. ``I think Judge Cohn did the right thing,'' said legal director Paul Denenfeld. ``The language was offensive but not an imminent threat to anyone. People should not have to stand trial for private thoughts and fantasies.'' In his opinion, Cohn quoted a court case from 1886: ``There is so much opportunity for magnifying or misunderstanding undefined menaces that probably as much mischief would be caused by letting them be prosecuted as by