Ex-UCLA athletic official pleads no contest to child porn possession
A former UCLA associate athletic director pleaded no contest Monday to possession of child pornography on his work-issued computer and was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.
Michael Sondheimer, 59, was immediately sentenced to three years of summary probation and ordered to attend sex offender counseling for a year while registering as a sex offender.
Sondheimer’s conviction is a misdemeanor. He was originally charged with felony possession of material depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct and faced up to three years in prison.
The 1977 UCLA graduate spent 36 years as athletic administrator at UCLA, spending a good chunk of that time in charge of the department’s compliance with National Collegiate Athletic Assn. rules and UCLA academic requirements.
L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Samer Hathout said authorities charged Sondheimer after an investigation by the UCLA police when child porn was found on Sondheimer’s work computer in April 2013.
The university placed him on administrative leave in June 2013 and he resigned that month.
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