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Actor Paul Reubens Pleads Guilty in Obscenity Case
By Gina Keating
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After a 2-1/2-year investigation in which prosecutors examined 30,000 images seized from his home, actor Paul Reubens (news) pleaded guilty on Friday to a single charge of possessing obscene material.
The children's actor, who won fame as television's "Pee-wee Herman," was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to keep away from children during that period.
His lawyer Blair Berk claimed victory, saying prosecutors had dropped a more serious child pornography charge and had agreed to allow Reubens to appeal the case to a higher court.
The plea deal also requires Reubens to register as a sex offender, but the case will be expunged from his record and his name removed from the state database if he finishes probation.
During his probation, Reubens, 51, must avoid anyone associated with the case, attend psychological counseling for a year, and pay a $100 fine.
Reubens, who did not appear in Los Angeles Superior Court, said in a statement that he was pleased to have avoided "a circus-like trial" and was "disappointed any part of my art collection was ever deemed inappropriate."
"These are certainly troubling times when our Attorney General Ashcroft has actually ordered the semi-nude statue of the Spirit of Justice to be covered with drapes," Reubens said.
"Taking responsibility by calling a few images in this collection 'obscene' and paying a $100 fine seemed like the sanest way to make it end," he added.
"TREATED FAIRLY"
Deputy City Attorney Richard Kraft said he was "pleased" with the plea agreement and described the images underpinning the case as "photographs in magazines depicting minors engaged in sexual conduct."
"We believe that Mr. Reubens was treated fairly and properly by the City Attorney's Office," Kraft said. "The disposition in this case took into account all of the facts and circumstances of the case and legal issues."
Kraft said the "nonsexual" images seized from Reubens' home in November 2001 would be returned to him but materials "involving sex" would be destroyed.
City Attorney's Office spokesman Eric Moses said the case was based on "170 images of minors engaged in sex conduct ... minors with genitals exposed, engaged in oral copulation, masturbation and multiple people engaging in sexual conduct."
Berk disputed that account, saying the photos were taken from magazines published decades ago and had no overt sexual content.
She also accused Los Angeles police of planting a videotape among the 30,000 items seized from Reubens' home, and said Reubens planned to challenge the case in state appellate court on free speech and illegal search and seizure grounds.
"The most important aspect of this is this debate will continue outside the courtroom," she said.
The lengthy case, fought mostly behind closed doors, galvanized civil rights and gay activists, who rallied to Reubens' defense.
Reubens was charged with a single misdemeanor a day after "Amadeus" actor Jeffrey Jones (news) was charged with allegedly taking sexually explicit photos of a 14-year-old boy who also made accusations against Herman and another man.
The boy was a relative of an art dealer who had sold all three men lots from a large erotica collection, a source close to the case said.
Jones pleaded no contest in July to child pornography possession and was sentenced to five years probation, and the other man, Philip Hiland, was convicted of the same charge, prosecutors said. Hiland's sentence was not immediately known.
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It was a porno theatre, for chrissakes! Every guy in that place was stroking himself! Paul Reubens was dumb enough to get caught.