The big porn news last month was the police raid on the headquarters of IncestParties - an incest-themed event planning group with franchises in major cities across the US. Their website home page has been replaced by an FBI notice saying that the site has been seized. The membership and activities lists are now in the hands of state and federal prosecutors.
Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Should you be worried?
Short answer is: if you have a last name, maybe. Yes, even if you've never signed up or had been to any of their parties. The reasons are somewhat complicated, but I'll try to cover the the high points:
1. IncestParties has been in business since 2009 - the year they became a 501(c)-3 non-profit. However they could have been active and growing for years prior to incorporation. These events were in every state except Utah. (For some reason they couldn't get a toe-hold in Utah.)
2. Their membership directory had tens of thousands of members from across the country. That means the list had thousands of family names.
3. Their directory of activities was also seized. All told, there were at least 10,000 events, going back as far as 2009.
4. Investigators and prosecutors in every state appear to be coordinating efforts in a dragnet fashion. This means if someone named "Smith" was registered in one state, all "Smiths" (including common spelling variations like "Smyth") in the other states could be investigated.
5. Depending on the legal definition of "incest" in each state, the roundup could include anyone related by marriage: cousins, in-laws, etc. Worst case, they could be investigating close to 20,000 families, or 100,000 individuals.
There's another rumor that IncestParties may be entirely contrived to bolster someone's profile on another porn site. Though an entertaining thought, you might still consider legally changing your name.
