Christopher Handley Obscene Manga Sentencing Delayed to February 8th (Updated)

Update: Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader, the sentencing is now rescheduled once again for February 11th according to the latest court schedule.

The defense for Christopher Handley in the Iowa man’s obscene material possession case has jointly asked the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa to grant a motion by Eric A. Chase, Handley’s attorney to continue the sentencing hearing on February 8th which was summarily granted last Thursday.

The sentencing was originally scheduled for last Monday morning, but the Judge presiding over the case granted the aforementioned motion after Assistant United States Attorney Craig Peyton Gaumer agreed with Handley’s counsel in Eric Chase to push back the sentencing due to the United States Probation’s late filing of the Final Presentence Investigation Report on Handley.

Handley was formally accused of receiving and possessing obscene material via the United States Postal Service in May of 2006. Specifically, he was accused of having “books containing visual representations of the sexual abuse of children, specifically Japanese manga drawings of minor females being sexually abused by adult males and animals” according to the case docket filed in May of last year.

Handley subsequently plead guilty to the above charges along with one count of mailing obscene material and faces up to 15 years in prison along with up to a $250,000 fine if convicted under Title 18 of the United States Code Section 1466A(b)(1),:

“which prohibits the possession of any type of visual depiction, including a drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting, that depicts a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct that is obscene.”

The two sides also agreed to the delay because of the potential of a joint sentencing recommendation and requested the additional time for discussion. The discussions also indicate the possibility of a sentencing deal, as well as the new motion stating that Handley is not in custody.