Thursday, April 01, 1999
Porn 'buyer' looks older
That could help Flynt's case
BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After his store was accused of selling a pornographic video to a juvenile, Larry Flynt said the teen-ager must look much older than his age. Apparently, the Cincinnati Police Division agrees.
In the year since he claimed to purchase the video, the teen-ager has been used as many as 50 times in police investigations involving the sale of alcohol to minors.
Police officers acknowledged the juvenile's role in those cases three weeks ago during a trial in Hamilton County Municipal Court.
Although the March 12 trial was unrelated to the Flynt case, a transcript shows that the same juvenile testified that he had been paid by police for more than a year to assist in their investigations.
“They picked you because you look like you're a lot older than you are, isn't that true?” asked attorney Peter Swenty.
“Probably,” responded the teen, who recently turned 16. He is not being named because he is a juvenile.
Later in the trial, the woman who was accused of selling the teen alcohol testified that he appeared to be 21 or older — the minimum age for buying alcohol in Ohio.
“He's big and also has a beard,” the woman said through a translator. “I was for sure he's over at least 21.”
The teen-ager's involvement in the alcohol cases is important because prosecutors must prove the clerk at the Hustler store “recklessly” sold the video to a minor.
If the teen looked much older, it could bolster Mr. Flynt's claim that his clerks check the ID of anyone who is not clearly over 18 years old.
“I've said from the beginning that this was a police sting operation,” Mr. Flynt said Wednesday. “If the police want to set somebody up for selling illegal liquor, cigarettes or pornography, it's pretty easy to do.”
Mr. Flynt's attorney, H. Louis Sirkin, said the testimony in the alcohol case raises questions about the teen's involvement in the Flynt case.
“I find it interesting that so much was played up about this kid, how they made it this big innocent thing,” Mr. Sirkin said. “But he clearly looks much older.
“(The police) are using him and they're paying him.”
In the alcohol case, which was tried before Judge Timothy Black, the juvenile testified that he was paid $30 to $40 every time he worked for the police, usually on cases involving underage alcohol purchases.
Officer Timothy Campbell, who is assigned to the vice unit, testified that he has worked with the teen about 50 times during the past year.
He said the teen's appearance and age made him a good candidate for investigations of alcohol sales to minors.
Mr. Swenty, whose client was convicted of selling to a minor, argued that the teen “gives an absolute impression of being over the age of 21.”
“(His) very appearance is entrapment by the police department,” Mr. Swenty told the judge.
Judge Black said the youth “doesn't look like he's 15,” but told Mr. Swenty his client still should have checked the teen's ID.
A supervisor for the police vice unit declined to comment Wednesday, as did Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen.
Mr. Flynt's trial is scheduled to begin May 10 in Common Pleas Court. He and his brother, Jimmy, are accused of selling obscene videotapes from their store on Sixth Street. Three of the 15 charges involve the sale of tapes to the juvenile.
If convicted, the Flynts each face more than 20 years in prison.
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