Jakarta – Judges at the Garut District Court in West Java have found a 20-year-old woman guilty of creating and starring in several pornographic videos, sentencing her to three years in prison.
"[We hereby] punish the defendant to three years' imprisonment and Rp 1 billion [US$69,818] in fines," presiding judge Hasanudin read from the verdict on Thursday as quoted by Antara.
The bench argued that the woman, identified as V, was guilty of violating Article 8 of the 2008 Pornograhy Law for appearing in pornographic content.
Apart from the women, the court also sentenced two men that appear in a video, identified as AD and W, to two years' and nine months' imprisonment.
The sentence was lighter than the five years' imprisonment demanded by prosecutors. Meanwhile, prosecutors had demanded that the court sentence both men to four years in prison.
"We respect the court's sentence and are still considering whether we will appeal it," prosecutor Sugeng Hariadi said.
On the other hand, V's lawyer, Asri Vidya Dewi, said her side would appeal.
"The judges ignored many facts during the trial, such as the fact that V had reported the case to the Garut Police prior to her arrest. She was also a minor when the videos were made," Asri said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
She added that filing an appeal was important because it would set a legal precedent for women involved in trafficking cases.
V was arrested in August last year alongside her husband, 31-year-old A, after videos showing her engaging in sexual intercourse with three men went viral on social media. The woman accused A of forcing her to engage in sexual acts with other men for money.
Her husband died one month later, before his trial was due to start. V and her lawyers asserted the claim that she was a victim because she had been forced by her husband to make the sex videos.
However, prosecutors dismissed the claim. "The real victim here are the people. Why did they only claim to be victims now that the videos have gone viral?" Garut Prosecutor's Office official Dapot Dariarma said on March 12 as quoted by kompas.com. (nal)