LOS ANGELES – Actor Paul Reubens, best known for playing Pee-wee Herman, pleaded innocent Wednesday to a misdemeanor charge of possessing child pornography.
Reubens, 50, who is free on $20,000 bail, entered the plea through his attorney, Blair Berk.
Berk said she would seek to have the charge thrown out at a Jan. 3 pretrial hearing. She also complained to court Commissioner Kristi Lousteau that the city attorney's office had not turned over its evidence to the defense.
"From the day the search warrant was executed I have requested of the Los Angeles Police Department and any prosecuting authority to inform the defense the basis on which the people are proceeding this case," Berk said.
Deputy City Attorney Richard Katz countered that prosecutors were not required to do so until after the arraignment. The prosecution did turn over documents to the defense after the arraignment, but neither side disclosed the contents.
The misdemeanor charge of possessing materials depicting children engaged in sexual conduct stems from a search of the actor's home in November 2001. It carries a maximum penalty of one year in county jail and a $2,500 fine.
In 1991, Reubens pleaded no contest to an indecent exposure charge after his arrest in Sarasota, Fla., for allegedly exposing himself in a movie theater.
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