O.C. Judge Is Charged With Possession of Child Porn

An Orange County Superior Court judge was charged Friday with possession of child pornography and placed under house detention at the urging of federal prosecutors, who said he poses a threat to the public.

Judge Ronald C. Kline, who is seeking reelection next year, surrendered to authorities and was ordered by a federal judge to wear an electronic monitoring device.

Investigators allege in court papers that Kline kept a diary in which he wrote about his sexual attraction to teenage boys and his visits to shopping malls, Little League games and the shower area of an athletic club.

Kline, 61, said through his attorney that he would plead innocent to the charges at a later hearing.

Kline’s surrender follows a search of his Irvine home Tuesday. Investigators said they uncovered five images on computer diskettes of young boys engaging in sexual acts. The images, three of which were copyrighted in Denmark, had been downloaded from the Internet, authorities said.

The case began several months ago, though officials didn’t say what prompted them to investigate the judge. Eliot said investigators confiscated more than 100 computer diskettes and are still reviewing them to decide whether more indictments are warranted.

According to court documents, Kline admitted that he sometimes views illegal images on his computer at home. Defense lawyer Paul Meyer said prosecutors are not alleging that any public property was involved. The search and interviews were conducted by the Irvine Police Department, U.S. Customs Service and the Orange County district attorney’s office.

In arguing that Kline’s contact with the public should be kept at a minimum, Assistant U.S. Atty. Deidre Elliot referred to the diary, which investigators found at his home. A customs investigator described the diary in court papers, claiming that Kline wrote about “seeking contact” with boys.

U.S. District Judge Arthur Nakazato agreed to home detention and ordered Kline to post $50,000 bond.

After Friday’s hearing, defense lawyer Meyer said that while prosecutors had claimed his client was a risk to the public, he had been charged only with one count of possession of child pornography.

“This allegation involves five images the government considers offensive found on a computer diskette at his house,” Meyer said. “The allegations charge possession and nothing else.”