Drawing the line

Some time ago on this blog I pondered whether a photo of two folk made from Lego and being "intimate" constituted pornography (and if I didn't, I meant to). According to news report today, a ruling on a similar but cartoon depiction has been made in the NSW Supreme Court where a man has been found guilty of child pornography after an animation depicting characters from the Simpsons was found on his computer. The reports suggest Bart, Lisa and Maggie were engaged in sexual acts but there was also reference to a mother (Marge?). Alan John McEwan was fined and entered into a two-year good behaviour bond - and told that, had the images portrayed "real" children, he would have bren jailed. MobileMetro reports McEwan had argued that cartoon characters were not people but was told by judge Justice Michael Adams that the law was in place to deter the production of cartoons that could "fuel demand for material that does involve the abuse of children".