20 Charged in L.A. Obscenity ‘Sting’ : 8 Firms Accused of Distributing ‘Abhorrent’ Pornography

Eight corporations and 20 corporate officers allegedly involved in the nationwide distribution of hard-core pornography were charged Thursday with numerous misdemeanor violations of the state obscenity law.

City Atty. James Hahn said the criminal complaints filed in Municipal Court represent the culmination of a major “sting operation” launched early last year by the Los Angeles Police Department’s administrative vice unit.

“Videotapes seized by police during this operation go far beyond the average public perception of pornography,” Hahn said. “These films are more than graphic. They deal with rape, sadomasochism, urination, defecation, and in one instance, bestiality. Abhorrent is a mild word to describe them.”

Each of the corporations and officials is charged with multiple violations, ranging from six to 10 counts, of a penal code section that prohibits the distribution of obscene materials or the possession of them with the intent to distribute.

Year-Old Operation

Hahn said the “sting” operation began in January, 1985, when two undercover vice officers posing as sales representatives of a video company attended a convention of adult video distributors in Las Vegas.

The officers, Michael Carter and Bill Roberts, made contact with representatives of all the corporations charged, and arranged to have sales brochures sent to them after the convention.

Carter and Roberts, pretending to be potential volume buyers of adult videos, then visited each of the companies, made purchases and were given tours of warehouses filled with hard-core pornographic films, Hahn said.

Last June, police obtained search warrants and raided the companies in a coordinated sweep, seizing quantities of videos--each 70 to 80 minutes long and selling for $40 to $70--that will be introduced as evidence against the defendants.

Those Charged Listed

Charged were Nite-Flite Video Corp. of North Hollywood and a corporate officer; VCX-Humphrey Sales Inc. of North Hollywood and three corporate officers; L. A. Video of Los Angeles and three officers; California Video Distributors of Canoga Park and three officers, and Video Co. of America of West Los Angeles and two officers.

Also charged were California Publishers Liquidating Co. of Los Angeles, and two officers; Vidco Inc. of North Hollywood, and two corporate officers; General Video West of North Hollywood, and two officers, and two men doing business as Video Home Entertainment-Video Home Library in North Hollywood.

The defendants are scheduled for arraignment March 17. The maximum penalty for violating the penal code statute they are charged under is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, although the maximum fine increases to $50,000 if there is a previous conviction.