I Australia har en mann nå blitt dømt for besittelse av en tegneseriestripe hvor barnekarakterer fra Simpsons-serien har sex med hverandre.

In a landmark finding, Justice Michael Adams today upheld a magistrate’s decision convicting a man of possessing child pornography after the cartoons – depicting characters modelled on Bart, Lisa and Maggie engaging in sex acts – were found on his computer.

Selv om de tegnede figurene ikke ligner vanlige mennesker, kan de i denne sammenheng likevel anses som «personer», hevdet dommeren.

But Justice Adams agreed with the magistrate. He found that, while The Simpsons characters had hands with four fingers and their faces were «markedly and deliberately different to those of any possible human being», the mere fact that they were not realistic representations of human beings did not mean that they could not be considered people.

Justice Adams said the purpose of the legislation was to stop sexual exploitation and child abuse where images of «real» children are depicted.

However it was also to deter the production of other material, including cartoons, that could «fuel demand for material that does involve the abuse of children».