GOP Fund-Raiser Admits Guilt in Child Porn Case

A prominent Republican fund-raiser who once said former President Clinton was “a lawbreaker and a terrible example to our nation’s young people” pleaded guilty Wednesday to production of child pornography.

Richard Anthony Delgaudio, who was sentenced in Baltimore Circuit Court to two years’ probation, admitted taking lewd photographs of a 16-year-old girl he met in a Baltimore park in 2001. In some of the photos, Delgaudio was engaged in sex with the girl, court records show.

Delgaudio, 50, of Burke, Va., is a frequent talk-radio guest and national figure in conservative politics. He is president of the Legal Affairs Council, a group that helped pay the legal bills of former Reagan administration officials Oliver L. North and Caspar W. Weinberger after they were charged in connection with the Iran-Contra affair.

There was additional evidence that Delgaudio took erotic images of at least one other younger teenager, but the evidence was not admissible in court because police improperly stopped and searched Delgaudio, a judge ruled.

Largely because of that, prosecutor Adam C. Rosenberg offered Delgaudio a plea agreement rather than taking the case to a jury.

“This is a satisfying outcome because it ends a lot of legal issues,” Rosenberg said.

In Wednesday’s ruling, Judge John M. Glynn ordered Delgaudio to stay away from Baltimore’s Patterson Park and the neighboring Butchers Hill area. The judge also publicly acknowledged Delgaudio’s humiliation.

“Mr. Delgaudio has been very active in the state of Virginia and around the country. He was a respected member of the community,” Glynn said. “This type of thing is a mortifying experience.”

Delgaudio thanked the judge for his “good work.” He is not able to appeal because of the conditions of the plea agreement. Delgaudio refused to comment about his case.