Man Sentenced Under New Pornography Law

A Van Nuys man has been ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography, in the first city case prosecuted under a new state law, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office announced.

Larry Earl Wiese, 40, was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to donate $1,000 to the Children’s Home Society, a nonprofit organization that helps abused children, after entering his plea Monday in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Wiese was convicted under a law drafted by Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn and passed last year by the California Legislature making it illegal to possess child pornography. The statute went into effect Jan. 1.

Wiese was arrested Jan. 23 after police discovered pornographic materials in his bedroom. The materials included magazines, books, photographs and videotapes depicting nude children engaged in sex acts, Deputy City Atty. Tracy Webb said.

Police discovered the materials while investigating an alleged rape at the residence, Webb said. Wiese was not a suspect in the rape. Wiese, who was a manager of a La Crescenta McDonald’s restaurant before his arrest, faced a maximum sentence of one year in jail, Webb said.

Webb said similar laws have been passed in other states and were recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that a state’s interest in protecting children outweighed the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of speech in such cases.