With the advance of technology, pornography can come right into the privacy of people's homes. However, computer porn is a subject that stirs strong passions. Of course, the question of whether free speech on the Internet should be curtailed also causes controversy. But is it free speech or explanation for the ever-resourceful pornography industry to utilize computer technology? After all, many cases have surfaced regarding computers and explicit sex:

o Robert and Carleen Thomas were convicted of transmitting obscenity through interstate phone lines via the computer bulletin board system on the Internet.

o Officials at the Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons laboratory near San Francisco announced that their computers were being used by computer hackers to store and distribute more than 1000 hard-core pornographic images.

o Sexually explicit discussion groups on the Internet are regularly logging the greatest number of messages by Internet's 25 million estimated users.

Of course, the incidents continue to increase in severity. Obscene pictures and sex talk become child's play once the idea of rape is introduced.

o Pedophiles have used computer bulletin boards to contact children, learn their names and addresses, and set up meetings with them. According to anti-pornography activist Len Munsil, children have actually been raped through this type of setup.

o Abraham Jacob Alkhabaz, a student at the University of Michigan, posted a message on "alt.sex.stories" of the Usenet network. In his story, he graphically detailed the rape, torture, and death of the woman with whom he had taken a class with. He had mentioned the woman by name in the story but claimed he never spoke to her.

These incidents most certainly can threaten one's safety, but what about cyberspace rape? Can someone actually be raped through the Internet? Doesn't a person who is online always have the option to log off or pull the plug in order to avoid sexual pressure?

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