O.C. Judge Charged With Possessing 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 documents that Kline kept a diary in which he wrote about his sexual attraction to teenage boys and how he would often visit shopping malls, Little League baseball 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 on Tuesday. Investigators said they uncovered five images on computer disks of young boys engaging in sex acts. The images, three of which were copyrighted in Denmark, had been downloaded from the Internet, authorities said.

The Kline case began several months ago, although officials didn’t say what prompted them to investigate. Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Elliot said investigators confiscated more than 100 computer disks and are still reviewing them to decide whether more indictments are warranted.

Kline, a slight man, appeared in court Friday wearing a gray tweed jacket and tie.

Defense lawyer Paul Meyer said prosecutors are not alleging that any public property such as courthouse computers was involved.

The search and interviews were conducted by Irvine Police, the U.S. Customs Service and the Orange County District Attorney’s office.

In arguing that Kline should be kept away from the public, Elliot referred to Kline’s diary, which investigators found at his home.

A Customs Service investigator described the diary in court papers, saying that Kline wrote about “seeking contact” with the boys he encountered.

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

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

“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.”

Kline was appointed to the bench by Gov. Pete Wilson in 1995. He filed for reelection on Oct. 30 and is running unopposed.

In a 1996 profile in the Daily Journal legal newspaper, Kline told a reporter that he had devoted his life to his career, passing up marriage.

In his spare time, Kline said, he served as an administrator and umpire for a local Little League. He said there were similarities to being a judge and umpire.

“Obviously, it’s the same sort of thing, that you have to be neutral,” he told the newspaper. “And I think fundamentally you have a position of power in both, but you have to use, not abuse it, don’t throw people out of the game.

“I think the same thing is true as a judge. You’ve got the power, but don’t abuse it.”

Lawyers who appeared before Kline on civil matters praised him Friday as an even-handed and respected jurist.

“It saddens me greatly that he’s got this type of trouble coming into his life, because from what I observed he was a very good judge,” said civil attorney Steven Young. “I hope it’s not true.”

Young and others said Kline’s courtroom demeanor was formal, but he was lighthearted outside.

“He had a tremendous judicial demeanor. He was always very professional,” Young said.”He had a good sense of humor but that didn’t enter into trying cases.”