Mandelon
02-22-2003, 10:10 PM
Pee-wee: Judge Doesn't Play Along
by Joal Ryan
Feb 21, 2003, 3:00 PM PT
No small problem for Pee-wee: His kiddie-porn case isn't going away. Not yet anyway.
A judge in Los Angeles Friday declined to dismiss the lone misdemeanor charge against actor Paul Reubens, arrested last November 15, on suspicion of possession of child pornography.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
A trial date could now be set as soon as February 28, the next day both the prosecution and defense are due back in court. But it appeared unlikely the gavel would come down on a Reubens trial anytime soon, with the defense intimating it was considering an appeal.
Reubens, 50, has pleaded innocent to the charge facing him. He remains free on $20,000 bail.
Though not present in court Friday, the erstwhile Pee-wee Herman, of Pee-wee's Playhouse fame, was looking to the hearing, requested by his defense team, to free him of the matter for good.
But L.A. Superior Court Judge C.H. Rehm didn't play along.
Deputy City Attorney Richard Kraft told reporters Friday he was "very pleased" with Rehm's ruling--as befitting of one who heard the judge agree with his side.
In court documents, Reubens' attorney Blair Berk argued that the prosecution's case shouldn't stick, because the "alleged contraband" seized at the actor's house during a November 2001 search was produced before a 1989 California law made such material illegal.
Berk also took on the law itself, saying, in court documents, the 1989 statute was "unconstitutionally overbroad."
The defense has sought to blow holes in the case against the Blow star, painting Reubens as a collector of "kitsch memorabilia" who was being nailed for having "vintage" books, magazines and film, not to mention the much-bootlegged Rob Lowe sex tape, in his library.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office begged to differ--a lot. It cited the magazines Hot 'n' Hung, Teen Nudes, 101 Boys and Young and Ready, all said to feature pictures of nude children, as evidence Reubens' collection was more criminal than vintage.
Reubens' home became the target of police after a teenage boy lodged a since-discounted complaint against the actor. The investigation was part of a general sweep, which also netted friend and fellow actor Jeffrey Jones, 55, who was rung up on an even more serious charge.
Jones, the unprincipled principal in Ferris Beuller's Day Off, faces a felony charge of hiring an underage boy to pose for sexually explicit photos. He, too, stands accused of misdemeanor kid-porn possession. He has pleaded innocent to those charges.
by Joal Ryan
Feb 21, 2003, 3:00 PM PT
No small problem for Pee-wee: His kiddie-porn case isn't going away. Not yet anyway.
A judge in Los Angeles Friday declined to dismiss the lone misdemeanor charge against actor Paul Reubens, arrested last November 15, on suspicion of possession of child pornography.
a d v e r t i s e m e n t
A trial date could now be set as soon as February 28, the next day both the prosecution and defense are due back in court. But it appeared unlikely the gavel would come down on a Reubens trial anytime soon, with the defense intimating it was considering an appeal.
Reubens, 50, has pleaded innocent to the charge facing him. He remains free on $20,000 bail.
Though not present in court Friday, the erstwhile Pee-wee Herman, of Pee-wee's Playhouse fame, was looking to the hearing, requested by his defense team, to free him of the matter for good.
But L.A. Superior Court Judge C.H. Rehm didn't play along.
Deputy City Attorney Richard Kraft told reporters Friday he was "very pleased" with Rehm's ruling--as befitting of one who heard the judge agree with his side.
In court documents, Reubens' attorney Blair Berk argued that the prosecution's case shouldn't stick, because the "alleged contraband" seized at the actor's house during a November 2001 search was produced before a 1989 California law made such material illegal.
Berk also took on the law itself, saying, in court documents, the 1989 statute was "unconstitutionally overbroad."
The defense has sought to blow holes in the case against the Blow star, painting Reubens as a collector of "kitsch memorabilia" who was being nailed for having "vintage" books, magazines and film, not to mention the much-bootlegged Rob Lowe sex tape, in his library.
The Los Angeles City Attorney's Office begged to differ--a lot. It cited the magazines Hot 'n' Hung, Teen Nudes, 101 Boys and Young and Ready, all said to feature pictures of nude children, as evidence Reubens' collection was more criminal than vintage.
Reubens' home became the target of police after a teenage boy lodged a since-discounted complaint against the actor. The investigation was part of a general sweep, which also netted friend and fellow actor Jeffrey Jones, 55, who was rung up on an even more serious charge.
Jones, the unprincipled principal in Ferris Beuller's Day Off, faces a felony charge of hiring an underage boy to pose for sexually explicit photos. He, too, stands accused of misdemeanor kid-porn possession. He has pleaded innocent to those charges.