CINCINNATI, May 12 -- Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt's obscenity trial ended abruptly today with a plea agreement in which Hustler News & Gifts Inc. pleaded guilty to two counts of pandering obscenity and, in exchange, all charges against Flynt and his brother were dismissed. The company also agreed to remove immediately all sexually orientated videos from its downtown Cincinnati store and to stop selling such videos. Flynt and his brother, Jimmy, who manages the store, were indicted in April 1998 on charges of pandering obscenity, disseminating material harmful to a juvenile, conspiracy and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. If convicted, each brother would have faced a maximum 24 years in prison. After announcing the plea agreement and questioning both defense and prosecution lawyers, Judge Patrick Dinkelacker fined Hustler Books & Gifts Inc. $5,000 on each count and adjourned the trial. The charge that had attracted the most publicity was one involving the sale of obscene videos to a 14-year-old boy. But Flynt told reporters today, that was the charge he was most confident of winning. He saidthe 14-year-old at the time weighed more than 200 pounds, was taller than 6-feet and had used a fake ID. Flynt said of the plea agreement: 'It was just too good a deal to turn down. They gave us what we wanted. 'When I initially came back to Cincinnati, it was to get (Hustler magazine) distributed here in Hamilton County. Had the prosecution told me that, as part of the plea agreement, Hustler had to go, we'd still be picking a jury now.
'Another thing that's always concerned me is that my brother also faced 24 years (in prison). It's one thing for me to go to jail for a principle but I couldn't expect it from him.' Although the plea agreement called for the 'immediate' removal of all videos from Hustler News & Gifts, Flynt jokingly said he told his brother 'not to be in a hurry to get to the store.' ---
Copyright 1999 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
