A public service announcement that references photos of naked juveniles has been causing controversy among Benson, Arizona residents.
The PSA has aired for two years on The Cave 97.7 FM, according to station manager Paul Lotsof.
He said in an interview that he does not like child pornography but created the announcement because he thinks Arizona's 10-year minimum sentence for each image of child porn is too harsh and costly for taxpayers, according to the Associated Press.
"Nobody put me up to it, and nobody paid," he said. "My feeling is that these people don't deserve life in prison just because they have pictures of naked juveniles."
Lotsof said in an email to KGUN9 that the PSA has been taken off the air.
A recording of the PSA surfaced on a Benson Facebook group over the weekend. It was originally recorded in 2015.
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels called the PSA "disdainful" in a release. He also called it "disgusting and unacceptable" and encouraging "evil behavior."
The announcement described Arizona's tough penalties for possession of child pornography and then provides advice on how to avoid convictions.
KGUN9 reached out to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for comment. Below is the response from a spokesperson:
"We are aware of having received some consumer complaints on this. As for possible actions, we decline comment. As a general policy, we do not confirm or comment upon investigations."
KGUN9 also asked Paul Lotsof for a comment and he said the PSA aired for the following two reasons:
"That Arizona has an extremely stringent law pertaining to possession of child pornography and it carries mandatory ten year prison sentences for each image a person possesses of a naked juvenile in a sexually suggestive pose. No other state has such a Draconian law."
"The announcement suggests that anyone who possesses such material take measures to prevent being handed a life prison sentence and it suggests not storing such material on a computer drive."
Lotsof said the announcement did not advocate for or condone the production of child pornography.
He said he wrote the announcement and did not receive compensation from anyone.
"My purpose was to keep people out of prison by making them aware of this law. I feel that if my announcement kept one person out of prison it was very valuable and a public service. If I offended some conservative types so be it," Lotsof said in an email to KGUN9.
Below is part of the statement from Sheriff Dannels:
"This is a disgusting and unacceptable public service announcement and this type of propaganda encourages evil behavior. Freedom of speech does not include telling people to commit crimes and continuing to pass on this information could lead to judicial action being taken. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office is now aware of this activity and will continue to seek legal advice on actions that can be taken for the content that has already been released and to ensure this kind of information in not released again."
The Federal Communications Commission, which regulates U.S. public airwaves, received a handful of complaints about the announcement, said spokesman Will Wiquist.
U.S. radio stations are required to air public service announcements in the interest of community service.
The commission does not impose requirements or restrictions on the announcements' content, said commission spokeswoman Janice Wise.
