GOODBYE, JANE

CASE of JANE DOE v. JAKE BAKER

Defendant Jake Baker is charged in a superseding indictment with five counts of transmitting threats to injure or kidnap another, in electronic mail (e-mail) messages transmitted via the Internet.

18 U.S.C. s 875(c) reads: Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication containing any threat to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person of another, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

a tight strip of rope

October 3, 1994
Baker posts "Gone Fishin'", a story , to the newsgroup alt.sex.stories.

down her throat the smacking sounds my hand makes against her pink skin

December 15, 1994
Baker posts "A Day At Work", a story, to the newsgroup alt.sex.stories.

gag on it

December 1994 and January 1995
Baker transmits e-mail messages to Arthur Gonda, a man in Ontario, describing the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a woman.

against my shaft

January 7, 1995
Baker posts "Going for a Walk", a story, to the newsgroup alt.sex.stories.

her velvety flesh

January 9, 1995
Baker posts Doe, a story which describes the rape, torture, and murder of a woman to the news group "alt.sex.stories". In "Doe", the character shared the name of a female classmate of Baker's and is here referred to as "Jane Doe".

She says in a little, terrified voice... ... p-please stop!

from an objective standpoint, the sender has no desire to intimidate. from an objective standpoint, transmitted for the purpose of intimidation,then it is unlikely that the recipient will be intimidated or that the recipient's peace of mind will be disturbed.

I force it in harder

January 19, 1995
A 16 year old girl in Moscow reads the story, then tells her father, who tells a Michigan alumnus, who notifies the University.

as far as it will go into her ear

January 20, 1995
DPS officers contact Baker. Baker waives his Miranda rights and admits to writing and posting the stories. DPS officers search Baker's room and account with his permission, finding an unpublished story and the e-mail conversations.

Her throat's quiverings tickle my

February 2, 1995
University President Duderstadt suspends Baker on the grounds that he is an immediate threat to the woman named in his story.

whole body into convulsions

February 9, 1995
FBI arrests Baker on basis of his stories and e-mail to Gonda. Bail is denied on the belief that he is too dangerous to release, as determined by a judge. Baker charged with violating 18 U.S.C. s 875(c).

He laughed aloud and gave her a firm smack.

The government characterizes the e-mail dialogue between Gonda and Baker in December, 1994 as reflecting "the evolution of their activity from shared fantasies to a firm plan of action."

The sight of her wiggling in mid-air, hands rudely taped behind her back, turns me on.

Now, I am not saying that the reading and writing of this thing is violence. I am asking you to think about whether it does anything......when people are consuming these fantasies, they are masturbating. Now, masturbating is not a harm in itself, however, I wish merely to point out that it does occur on a physical plane. It is actually the doing of something.
--Catharine Mackinnon

Drool and loud squeaks escape through her gag. She's so beautiful like this.

February 15, 1995
Baker indicted by grand jury, negating need for probable cause hearing.

tiny pink body is now covered in sweat; nice and shiny in the light.

But what I'd like to ask here, is the question of whether this thing that is called the story, which is sexually graphic, and elaborately and in detail describes the doing of an activity to a named individual, is that an injury in itself?

Once it's tight enough, I let go.

The prosecution must establish a "true threat," which means a serious threat as distinguished from words uttered as mere political argument, idle talk or jest. In determining whether words were uttered as a threat the context in which they were spoken must be considered.

tore apart the inside of her scorched asshole

February 17, 1995
Baker arraigned, pleads not guilty.

all over her pretty face, down her throat

March 9, 1995
Baker released on $10,000 bond by Judge Avern Cohn.

I smile and stoke

March 15, 1995
Baker charge based on story dropped, Baker charged with 5 counts based on e-mail with Gonda.

Spent, I go grab a beer

June 21, 1995
Charges against Baker dismissed in a ruling by Judge Avern Cohn. Cohn cited lack of evidence that Baker would act out his fantasies.

"Goodbye, Jane" I said, and lit a match...

January 29, 1997
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds the dismissal of charges against Baker, ruling that the e-mail messages did not constitute a credible threat.

*an e-mail from Catharine MacKinnon, July 15, 1998 It would make more sense to call it The Case of Jane Doe, and let HER prosecute him, which she was never able to do, because the courts, in an outrageous distortion of the law, said that what he did was not a threat to her, so he walked. Her personal name remains "snuffed" in front of 300,000 subscribers worldwide, not to mention the narrow escape represented by the fact that she is still alive. Please untwist this case.

selected court proceedings and interview based on document#1 posting of Jane Doe