GLENDALE : Man Gets Jail Over Child Pornography

A former Glendale religious store owner was sentenced Thursday to three months in jail for possessing child pornography.

Robert Emmerson White, 47, of Glendale was sentenced by Glendale Municipal Judge Barbara Lee Burke, who declined to follow the recommendation of three years probation in a pre-sentence report.

White--a registered sex offender from a 1987 lewd conduct case--was also told to serve the recommended probation term, 100 hours of community service and seek psychiatric counseling. He was ordered not to associate with children under 14, except in the presence of a responsible adult.

The former owner of A Gift Box, 114 S. Louise St., was found guilty April 1 of misdemeanor possession of prohibited material. After arresting White on suspicion of drunken driving, police found a wallet-size photo of a young girl naked from the waist down.

A search of his Glendale home turned up a videotape of naked children running around and photocopied pages of ads from porno magazines. Before sentencing, White told the judge that he did not order the materials, which arrived in the mail.

“I hope nothing like that ever comes to me again,” he said. “If it does, I’ll throw it away, or give it to police.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Schirn, although he had asked for the maximum one-year jail term, called the sentence “a very fair ruling.”

White is expected to surrender May 13 at the Glendale City Jail.