EdwardKnoxII 0 Report post Posted March 20, 2004 http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,13736,00.html Pee-wee Porn Charge Dropped by Lia Haberman Paul Reubens' legal woes over his questionable art collection are coming to an end. Prosecutors dropped a child-porn charge against the erstwhile Pee-wee Herman on Friday, more than two years after the actor was booked on a misdemeanor count of possessing child pornography. In exchange, Reubens, 51, agreed to cop a plea to a misdemeanor obscenity charge and a $100 fine. He'll be on probation for the next three years, including one year of counseling, with the charge wiped from his record if he behaves. Additionally, Reubens must register as a sex offender for the duration of his probation and must avoid unsupervised contact with minors, prosecutors said. Reubens would have faced up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted of the original charge. All along, Team Reubens has maintained that the offending images were part of a historical art-photography collection, a defense the prosecution has vigorously disagreed with. Both sides declared the judgment a victory of sorts. "The Reubens' conviction points out that the sexual exploitation of children will not be tolerated," said Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo in a statement. It was a bittersweet vindication for Reubens, who released his own statement. "I am disappointed any part of my art collection was ever deemed inappropriate," 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." Reubens' problems stem from a 2001 police raid of his Hollywood Hills home after an unidentified accuser claimed the actor was into child pornography. Cops confiscated boxes of images, personal computers and videos (including the much-bootlegged tape of Rob Lowe's kinky encounter with an underage female in a hotel room during the 1988 Democratic convention) and subsequently charged the onetime TV star with the child porn count. Reubens pleaded innocent to the charge and, through his attorney, denied ever knowingly possessing any artwork "even remotely related to anything improper." Thus began the argument over art vs. pornography. Reubens defense team labeled the collection "kitsch memorabilia" and "vintage books, magazines and photographs," and characterized their client as a supersize pack rat who bought much of his stash sight unseen. The attorneys also filed a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that the alleged kiddie-porn items in Reubens' collection were produced before a 1989 California law made such materials illegal. But prosecutors weren't swayed. Deputy City Attorney Richard Kraft described the collection at the time as a "massive" library of porn movies of teenage boys engaged in "masturbation and various other sex acts" (a claim disputed by Reubens' representatives) and maintained that all child porn is criminal without exception to the date it was created or duplicated. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Carol H. Rehm sided with the prosecution in a February 2003 decision to let stand the single charge of misdemeanor child pornography against Reubens. He declined to reverse that decision in June 2003 after Reubens' lawyers filed a second petition to dismiss the case and also rejected a motion to ban evidence obtained via a search warrant. According to the city attorney's office, some 170 pieces of evidence seized by the police will be destroyed, including the copy of Lowe's amateur sex tape. The plea deal could help clear the way for Reubens' return to show-biz glory. His successful kiddie-show career was derailed in 1991 after he was charged with exposing himself and masturbating during a Florida theater screening of the X-rated gem Nancy Nurse. The resulting publicity led CBS to cancel Pee-wee's Playhouse. He's made a comeback of sorts since then, scoring a scene-stealing turn in the Johnny Depp film Blow, hosting ABC's short-lived game show You Don't Know Jack and making a high-profile guest appearance on Ally McBeal, but he has so far failed to recapture his initial success. Most recently, he lent his voice to the animated Disney feature Teacher's Pet, which proved a box-office disappointment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Youth N Asia 0 Report post Posted March 20, 2004 Pee Wee, 51 years old...just doesn't seem like it could possibly be right. "Art" or not. Naked pics of kids is just too creepy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nighthawk 0 Report post Posted March 21, 2004 Good for him. I've known some vintage erotica collectors, it's no big deal. I am also surprised he's 51, though. He's older than my father. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
