You still have to convince others there was no willingness. And it's much easier to convince them of that if you're not also sending the copies to other people.
Exactly. Stay away from anything that could even be believed to be hosting felony content. I always tell people that, if they do run it, run it through some hosted server at a reputable place so the police just grab that box. They might still hit a residence but they might not if they find nothing on the box they grab while it's active.