CHOCO
Dec 19th, 2002, 02:00 PM
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38609000/jpg/_38609605_peewee150.jpg
Reubens has had a chequered career
Thursday, 19 December, 2002, 11:23 GMT
Pee-wee star denies porn charge
BBC News
Actor Paul Reubens, best known for playing Pee-wee Herman, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing child pornography in a Los Angeles courtroom.
The 50-year-old actor was arrested in November and charged with possessing materials depicting children engaged in sexual conduct.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and $2,500 (£1,558) fine.
He is free on $20,000 (£12,470) bail until the case comes to trial in 2003.
His lawyer, Blair Berk, said she will be applying to have the charge thrown out at a pre-trial hearing on 3 January.
She also complained to court commissioner Kristi Lousteau that the Los Angeles attorney's office had not turned over its evidence to the defence.
Home search
But deputy city attorney Richard Katz replied that prosecutors were not required to do so until after the hearing.
The prosecution did turn over documents to the defence once the hearing had finished, but neither side disclosed its contents.
Mr Reubens, who also starred in the 2001 film Blow, was arrested following a search of his home as part of a year-long investigation into child pornography.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor Jeffrey Jones was also arrested as part of the investigation and charged with hiring a 14-year-old boy to pose for sexually explicit photos, and with possession of child pornography.
He has protested his innocence ahead of a court appearance on 9 January.
Reubens' career as comic character Pee-wee Herman was severely damaged when he was convicted for exposing himself in an adult cinema in 1991.
Reubens has had a chequered career
Thursday, 19 December, 2002, 11:23 GMT
Pee-wee star denies porn charge
BBC News
Actor Paul Reubens, best known for playing Pee-wee Herman, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing child pornography in a Los Angeles courtroom.
The 50-year-old actor was arrested in November and charged with possessing materials depicting children engaged in sexual conduct.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and $2,500 (£1,558) fine.
He is free on $20,000 (£12,470) bail until the case comes to trial in 2003.
His lawyer, Blair Berk, said she will be applying to have the charge thrown out at a pre-trial hearing on 3 January.
She also complained to court commissioner Kristi Lousteau that the Los Angeles attorney's office had not turned over its evidence to the defence.
Home search
But deputy city attorney Richard Katz replied that prosecutors were not required to do so until after the hearing.
The prosecution did turn over documents to the defence once the hearing had finished, but neither side disclosed its contents.
Mr Reubens, who also starred in the 2001 film Blow, was arrested following a search of his home as part of a year-long investigation into child pornography.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off actor Jeffrey Jones was also arrested as part of the investigation and charged with hiring a 14-year-old boy to pose for sexually explicit photos, and with possession of child pornography.
He has protested his innocence ahead of a court appearance on 9 January.
Reubens' career as comic character Pee-wee Herman was severely damaged when he was convicted for exposing himself in an adult cinema in 1991.