DA SAYS BOOK WITH NUDE CHILDREN ISN'T PORN
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Barnes & Noble Booksellers will not be prosecuted for selling a bookshowing nude and partially nude children and adults in nonsexual poses,officials said.
The 96-page book of Jock Sturges photos sold at the Barnes & Noble inBrookfield shows many of the subjects with their arms around each other orhugging.Others are standing naked on a beach or next to a tree. One photographdepicted five boys and girls lying nude on a beach in various poses.
``What we have here is a book of photographs of definitely prepubescentchildren naked but not engaged in sexually explicit conduct,'' DistrictAttorney Paul Bucher said about ``The Last Day of Summer.'' ``It's not childpornography.''
``It's open to interpretation,'' said Brookfield Cpl. Pat Kemp, whoinvestigated the child pornography allegations. ``Some people feel morestrongly against it than others. I don't think there's anything lewd in thereor sexually explicit.''
The case started when Maureen Lugo of New Berlin heard a broadcast of thenationwide Christian radio show ``Crosstalk,'' police said. The show featureddiscussion of Barnes & Noble stores and the books they sell.
Lugo told police she went to a Brookfield store and was ``in shock'' atwhat she saw in ``The Last Day of Summer.'' She filed a complaint soon after.
Complaints and incidents of pages being ripped out of Sturges photographybooks have been made in several cities nationwide, including Rockford, Ill.,and Ann Arbor, Mich., the First Amendment organization The Media Coalitionreported.
``We don't believe it is our place as a retailer to censor the readingtastes of the public,'' said Lisa Herling, Barnes & Noble vice president ofcorporate communications, Tuesday.
Another Sturges book showing graphic pictures of lesbians has also comeunder fire from Christian talk shows recently, officials said.
Both books are the target of a separate complaint from a Glendale man whoalso said he heard the talk radio show.
The Milwaukee County district attorney will be asked to review that case,which also involves a Barnes & Noble store, officials said.