Local Porn Site Webmaster Gives Interview

In June, Sheriff Ron McNesby and Asst. State Atty Russ Edgar busted a porn ring. Site owner Clinton Raymond McCowen, 45,also known as Ray Guhn, of Navarre and Kevin Patrick Stevens, 36, of Pensacola, who was a producer and Web site technician, was arrested and charged with racketeering — conducting a criminal enterprise by engaging in prostitution and the manufacture and sale of obscene material.

A third Pensacola man was arrested later – Andrew Kevin Craft, 38, the general manager of the Web site – on the same charges.

Craft has given an interview to AVN online – adult film industry website. Here is part of the interview.
What is the political climate like in Pensacola?

We are in the Bible Belt, there is no question. It’s a conservative town; however, you are able to go to any convenience store in Escambia County and purchase hardcore magazines—Penthouse, Taboo, Cheri, Hustler, Swank, etc. Escambia County does not allow the sale or rental of [adult] videos. People have gotten around that in two ways: One, Pensacola is only 10 miles from the border of Alabama, and there are XXX rental stores up and down the border; and second, retailers are allowed to sell educational videos. Those videos are hardcore.

Are any of you working currently?

We’re all unemployed. The third guy who was arrested hadn’t been working with us for a while.

An informant?

Here’s the best way I can describe it: My bond and [McCowen’s] bond was set at $75,000. His bond was set at $1,000. If that doesn’t tell you he was helping…Ray and I had to come up with $7,500 to post the bond for $75,000. He had to come up with $100.

When did he last work with you?

Two years ago. See, all this activity is stemming from things that occurred in the past. We had moved production from Pensacola almost three years ago. We moved to Tampa for a little while and then to Vancouver.

You were shooting everything in Vancouver?

One hundred percent. We’ve been up there almost two years. That’s why they chose racketeering. They couldn’t charge us with prostitution, because it has a one-year statute of limitations. They could have charged us with obscenity, but I think as a whole, we have an extremely good chance of beating the obscenity charge. What they do is use the catchall: Any two predicates combined can equal racketeering, so that’s what they charged us with. That looks better on paper.

How politically motivated do you think this is?

Oh, my God, dude. It was the headline for three days. It beat out a murder, a child molester, and a rapist for the headlines.

How does it make you feel being used for political gain?

We’ve prided ourselves in our privacy. We used stage names in the industry. In our local community, no one knew what our profession was. Even our families didn’t know what we did. Now, I’ve been labeled a pervert, a john, and a pornographer. I’ve lost my daughter. They’ve stripped me of all legal rights to see her.

How did that happen?

Police questioned my ex-wife, and that’s how she found out what I was doing. Not even she knew what I was doing, because I wasn’t doing this when I was married to her. At that point, she went to her attorney. Once I was arrested, they filed paperwork, claimed I was a flight risk, and the judge agreed that there was a strong possibility that I would take my daughter and run, so all rights were stripped. On Aug. 11 I have a hearing to dispute that action. My daughter was my life. She was the reason I did what I did. I worked for her.

How do you feel about the possibility of jail?

The maximum penalty for racketeering is 30 years. I have no priors. I’ve never been arrested. I’ve always done the right things. I ran the third-largest youth soccer tournament in Florida. I’ve volunteered hundreds of hours for the youth soccer organization. I’ve lost all that. My mom and dad know what I do for a living now. They’re conservative, and it’s broken my mom’s heart. To think that I might go to jail for working in a legitimate, legal business blows my mind. It may not be moral in some people’s eyes, but it wasn’t illegal. I didn’t sell drugs, I didn’t murder anybody, and I didn’t rape anybody. I always made sure I never dealt with minors. Nobody was coerced. Nobody was forced, but I’m being labeled a criminal and I’m not.

What’s next?

We’ve got a defense fund going (RO Note:RayGuhnDefenseFund.com) . I just got word from ePassporte that they’re going to create a special account, so webmasters can donate without the fees. That’s going to be a big help. I’ll be at Internext to try to drum up support and try to explain the importance of this case. If we lose this case, our industry as we know it is in serious peril. If Florida says that paying a model with a contract to perform on camera is prostitution, you are going to see the hundreds of sites that shoot here in Florida go away.

The entire interview can be found at

http://www.avnonline.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Web_Exclusive_Features&Action=Print_Article&Cont