Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A social worker testified Friday that a man imprisoned for writing fantasies in his journal about torturing and molesting children could act on those thoughts.
Robin Aurnou testified for prosecutors who are arguing against allowing Brian Dalton to withdraw his guilty plea so he can fight the constitutionality of Ohio’s child pornography law.
Dalton, 22, pleaded guilty in July to pandering obscenity involving a minor and is serving a 10-year sentence.
The case has alarmed experts in First Amendment and obscenity law, who believe Dalton is the first person in the United States successfully prosecuted for child pornography writings, rather than images.
Aurnou diagnosed Dalton as a pedophile while he attended a treatment program after a 1998 conviction involving pornographic photographs of children.
She testified that the private journals could trigger Dalton to act on his fantasies. The increasing frequency and bluntness of the writings make it more likely he might act on them, she added.
Franklin County Judge Nodine Miller refused defense requests to strike Aurnou’s testimony.
Assistant prosecutor Scott Forehand said the testimony was relevant because it relates to the law’s constitutionality.
Dalton, of Columbus, was charged after his mother discovered his journal and gave it to authorities.
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