When Gordon Lee kept his comic book store open late on Halloween in 2004, he was hoping to attract the attention of youngsters.

Three years, two sets of facts and a slew of changed charges later, Lee has received much more attention — from an outraged mother of two, the media, prosecutors, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and the comic book community as a whole — all because of a comic book drawing of a naked Pablo Picasso.

On Halloween night, Lee decided to participate in a trick-or-treat event where he distributed more than 2,000 free comic books at his store in Rome, Georgia. Among those he distributed was "Alternative Comics #2," which included drawings of Pablo Picasso's allegedly erect penis. A copy was handed out to two brothers, a 6-year-old and a 9-year-old, according to court documents. The boys' mother objected to the drawings of the penis, claiming it was inappropriate for her children.

In the comic book, a series of drawings with pictures of a naked Pablo Picasso were used to depict the artist's first meeting with artist Georges Braque. The two artists are considered the founders of Cubism. Picasso is depicted in the nude, which, according to Charles Brownstein, executive director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, is historically accurate.

The case has also become a free-speech battle that began innocently enough, defense attorneys said, as one man's attempt to participate in a trick-or-treat event.

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The boys' mother refused to accept an apology from Lee and went to police. Days later, the comic book store owner was arrested and charged with seven counts, including two felonies for distributing material depicting nudity or sexual conduct and misdemeanor charges of exhibition of harmful materials to a minor.

The case has taken a couple of wild turns through a series of motions, appeals and the dismissal of the felony charges against Lee. Prosecutors contacted Lee's defense 18 hours before his original trial was supposed to begin, saying they had the wrong victim. Immediately after, prosecutors refiled an indictment with the correct victim, but dismissed the felony charges against Lee.

He now faces two misdemeanor charges of distributing harmful materials to a minor and could be sentenced to up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine for each count if convicted. His trial is set to begin Monday.

Lee appealed to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund for help, and the fund has spent $80,000 to date on Lee's case, Brownstein said.

"I think everybody was overwhelmed by how grossly overcharged Mr. Lee was," he said.

At the heart of the case is whether Lee can be protected by the claim that the depiction of the penis is covered by constitutional free-speech protections. Brownstein claims that in Lee's case, the material was simply an accurate depiction of Picasso's appearance when he met Braque.

"We are talking about art here. We are talking about a historically based narrative, and we are talking about material that is not sexually explicit in any way in its nature," Brownstein said.

"This needs to be a clean win because Mr. Lee didn't commit a crime," Brownstein said. "At worst, a mistake was made in the dissemination of the comic, and it was a needle-in the-haystack case.

"This should have been solved with an apology, not three years of legal action with charges that don't apply and could have a precedent in danger of hurting comic book creators and sellers throughout the state of Georgia," he said.

Floyd County district attorney Leigh Patterson and defense attorney Paul Cadle were not immediately available for comment.