Why You May Want to Stop Shopping at Amazon.com Right Now
A civil complaint has been filed today in First U.S. District Court of Bangor, Maine, claiming that Jeff Bezos and Amazon.com, along with Phish drummer Jon Fishman, are selling “prohibited obscene matter depicting child rape, incest, sodomy, bestiality, mother rape and murder.”
The suit was filed by Belfast, Maine, local Bradley Williams asking for damages from Amazon.com and the Vermont-based band Touchpants for sales of their 2006 CD, which contains 43 songs with titles such (obscenity). The suit alleges that the obscene materials both depict children in (obscenity) and makes the same prohibited materials available to children.
Touchpants call themselves a “Comedy Troupe of Poop” and features Phish drummer Jon Fishman, who originally had charged Williams with harassment following a mailed $40 cash donation to the Mimi Fishman Foundation, in September 2014.
Those charges were dropped, and Williams responded by placing fliers of Fishman naked on stage stating “This Is a Sex Crime Against Children.” Fishman countered with a libel suit against Williams filed in April, 2016, and lost a related hearing on April 24, 2016 wherein it was adjudicated that Williams had done no wrong. Fishman claimed that William’s was “falsely alleging that I am an unprosecuted sex criminal.”
“He admitted to flashing children from stage. He was under oath, so he is a sex criminal,” stated Williams. That was during a failed April 24, 2016 hearing lost by Fishman against Williams.
Williams then filed a counter-suit against Fishman asking for punitive damages.
The suit against Bezos, Fishman, Touchpants and Amazon is asking for forfeiture of all assets used in the dissemination and sales of the child pornography, one of the largest civil claims ever.
Although Touchpants can still be seen online at their website, Soundcloud page and Facebook page, as well as You Tube videos, Williams has asked for an injunction to desist, as well as having filed an “affidavit of probable cause” for the arrests of the defendants.
“Jon Fishman’s criminal complaint has already been filed, but Jeff Bezos’ is still in the works,” said Williams, after filing with the Federal Court in Bangor on Wednesday.
At the heart of the lawsuit are allegations that some of the lyrics defy even the most liberal interpretations of the guidelines on obscenity. Amazon neglected to use the required disclaimers, parental warnings, and age restrictions on the Touchpants materials.
The complaint alleges that the defendants are selling child porn to children.
Bradley Williams is a self-employed chimney sweep and a music teacher in Belfast, Maine. {eoa}
