Chester the Molester was a comic strip by Dwaine B. Tinsley (December 31, 1945 – May 23, 2000), cartoon editor of the pornographic magazine Hustler.[1] Tinsley produced the strip's monthly issues for 13 years, from 1976 to 1989.[2] The tongue-in-cheek strip shows Chester, a middle-aged pedophile, joyfully molesting women and young girls,[3] or tricking or attempting to trick them into sexually compromising positions. After increasing controversy, the cartoon became Chester and Hester, Hester as an unattractive middle-aged woman who was Chester's girlfriend in crime. Following the alleged religious conversion of Hustler founder Larry Flynt in 1977, the strip was briefly retooled as Chester the Protector,[4] a reincarnation of Chester who served to protect young girls from rape and seduction.[5]
| Chester the Molester | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dwaine B. Tinsley |
| Current status/schedule | Ended |
| Launch date | 1976 |
| End date | 1989 |
| Publisher | Hustler |
| Genre | Adult comics |
Tinsley was arrested on May 18, 1989, after being accused by his 18-year-old daughter Allison of molesting her since she was 13.[6][7] According to court records, he allegedly told his coworkers, "You can't write about this stuff all the time if you don't experience it."[8] Tinsley was found guilty of five counts of child molestation;[9] he was convicted on January 5, 1990, and was sentenced to six years in prison.[9][10][11][2] During his incarceration, he briefly continued dispatching new strips to Hustler from his cell to be edited by Edward Kuhnel.[12] Tinsley's conviction was overturned in 1992 when an appeals court ruled that the jury should not have based the conviction on his strip, violating the First Amendment.[13] The prosecutor in the case ultimately decided not to retry him after he served 23 months.[14] Flynt claims he did not ask Tinsley about the conviction and defended him.[12] He died of a heart attack in 2000 aged 54.[15]
References
edit- ↑ "Bob Levin Release Party for New Book in May". Comic Book Bin. Coolstreak Cartoons. April 15, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- 1 2 Taylor, Betty W.; Rush, Sharon; Munro, Robert John (1999). Feminist Jurisprudence, Women and the Law. Wm. S. Hein Publishing. p. 358.
- ↑ "Dwaine B. Tinsley".
- ↑ "The Press: I'll Be a Hustler for the Lord'". Time. December 5, 1977. Archived from the original on December 15, 2007.
- ↑ Bronstein, Carolyn. Battling Pornography: The American Feminist Anti-Pornography Movement, 1976–1986.
- ↑ "People v. Tinsley". Findlaw. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ↑ "Hustler cartoonist arrested on molestation charge". Associated Press. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ Associated Press (June 2, 1989). "Artist's Cartoons Depicted His Molestations of Teen-Ager, Court Papers Allege". Los Angeles Times.
- 1 2 Berger, Leslie (January 11, 1990). "Jury Convicts Hustler Cartoonist of Molesting Girl". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "'Chester the Molester' cartoonist convicted of child molestation". Associated Press. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ "Hustler Cartoonist Sentenced to 6 Years". Los Angeles Times. May 5, 1990. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- 1 2 "Larry Flynt: Freedom fighter, pornographer, monster?". The Independent. December 6, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
- ↑ "'Chester Molester' case overturned". The Pittsburgh Press. February 27, 1992. p. 10. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Molestation Case Won't Be Retried". Los Angeles Times. September 18, 1992. p. 428. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Dwaine B. Tinsley". Kees Kousemaker's Comiclopedia. Retrieved July 29, 2025.