A while back I got into an argument (of the discussion variety) about an hypothetical situation in which someone generates child pornography (read: using no real kids) and then puts it online for perverts, ahem, clients to do whatever sick shit they do with it.  In that case, the question was raised, could it be breaking the law if there were technically no children being destroyed?  Without getting back into that debate, and all the tangets about what it might encourage, what might happen, bla bla bla...I'd just want to know why the hell THIS is an issue....I can't believe we even need to wonder...outside hypothetical that is.

I seem to recal there being some debate about cartoons of this nature as well.  Can't remember what happened though.

from a freedom/constitutional perspective (no expert) I'd say creating it for you own use would be legal, but when you start sharing it... there is no way to verify the age of these children that MAY or MAY NOT exist... so that would/should be illegal.

I believe that the site requires adult verification...which is to say, these are all adults within any sort of reasonable doubt...besides, (and I'm not making an argument, more a statement)...what kid in his/her right mind does this kind of thing?!

The legal "actors" can pretend to be any character they want (including little children)

Of course, here we're talking about brain police. The idea that someone might have a thought that is offensive to someone else is, in some people's minds, reason to stop them! Sure, if you draw pictures of children having sex with anyone, and keep them to yourself, I doubt anyone will be the wiser...until you find yourself in some sort of problem in which your world becomes a goldfish bowl and those pictures come to light. Absolute proof you're a pervert! And no one will care whether the drawings are legal or illegal, you'll be judged solely on their content and found guilty. They're evidence of intent! Frankly, even if you share such drawings with other interested parties, isn't it freedom of speech? No one has been exploited. What if children draw pictures of themselves having sex? I hate to think of the therapy that poor kid would be subjected to nowadays! I suspect, just on sheer bravado, that many men, during the dark night of the soul, wrapped in the arms (and legs) of their 45 year old wife and mother of their six children, think about having sex with a teenager specific or general. Perhaps women do something similar. Should we seek these perverts out and imprison them? Sex in western culture is so convoluted I doubt that most people know what they really desire from it. Objectifying people in general is unrealistic. One cannot have sex with a body without the personality intervening at some point. There's a fine line between exploitation and education.

There was an episode of Law and Order about this very topic.  I cannot remember the outcome though.

Thanks, Brendan, that's very helpful! I'm sure Chris Meloni's character was all for stringing the perp up. He's such an asshole on that show! The only character worse is Sam Waterson on the original L&O. Geez! He's become a total Nazi!

Legal or not, I think everyone here except for a small few believes that people like that should have their skulls beaten in just long enough that they are too brain dead to even think about sex, with any one.  To those "small few", you are probably the guy I am talking about

Legal or not, I think everyone here except for a small few believes that people like that should have their skulls beaten in just long enough that they are too brain dead to even think about sex, with any one.  To those "small few", you are probably the guy I am talking about

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think beating someone's skull until they're brain dead because they drew an objectionable or even sickening cartoon is probably illegal.

If the cops are allowed to do that, watch out because you may be their next target - for reading some of the sexier parts of the Bible or some other new and wonderful 'thought crime' you aren't yet aware you're committing.

...and just for the record, I'm one of the potential 'skull beaters', not one of the "small few".