.
Feedback

Former Head of L.A. Neighborhood Commission to Plead Guilty in Child Porn Case

Al Abrams, 64, is scheduled to plead guilty Sept. 14 to a felony count of distribution of child pornography he had received over the Internet

 

A Tarzana man who quit an unpaid Los Angeles city job after FBI agents found a massive kiddie porn stash at his home has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court papers obtained Friday.   

Al Abrams, 64, is scheduled to plead guilty Sept. 14 to a felony count of distribution of child pornography he had received over the Internet, according to a signed plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.

In the document, Abrams acknowledged having collected more than 600
images of child pornography over the course of more than 10 years. The collection contained images of children under 12, including infants, "engaging in sexually explicit conduct'' and portraying "sadistic or masochistic'' activity, according to the agreement filed last week.

Abrams was charged last February in an eight-count indictment that accused him of distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors will recommend that Abrams receive a sentence of between five and eight years in prison, lifetime supervised release and a fine of $5,000, court papers show.   

Abrams resigned in August 2011 as president of the seven-member Board of
Neighborhood Commissioners, which oversees the neighborhood councils that
provide a link between local communities and Los Angeles City Hall.

Abrams, who had served on the board since 2008, owns a public relations
firm and has worked on ballot measures in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and
Walnut Creek.

According to an affidavit filed in support of a search warrant, federal authorities looking into a peer-to-peer file-sharing network were able to download more than 150 videos and images depicting child porn from a computer at Abrams' house.

After his house was searched in 2011, he told a TV station that a now-excised growth on his spine left him with a split personality that compelled
him to do what normally would have been out of character.

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Agoura Hills Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Loading comments ...
Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
CPR/AED & First Aid Training Agoura Hills, CA
Mark Fonseca May 21, 2013 at 11:50 am
Contact Rescue Training Institute at Phone: (818)532-7348 Email: mark@rescuetrainingsocal.com
Susan Pascal (Editor) May 20, 2013 at 08:10 am
The information we received from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's station was that a mentally illRead More patient was removed from the bus Sunday night. No one was harmed, officials said.
Bob Thomas May 22, 2013 at 08:21 am
John, it was reported on KTLA. You can find it at KTLA.com and do a search of "Agoura HighRead More graffiti."
John May 21, 2013 at 03:25 pm
Bob, who reported it was one of the kids on the list?
Meril Platzer May 18, 2013 at 11:04 am
Either way it is wrong and uses the race card as a "despicable stunt"
Susan Pascal (Editor) April 9, 2013 at 03:06 pm
Thanks for your great perspective on this issue. We should all unplug once in awhile.
shakelightly April 9, 2013 at 02:33 pm
I think for the most part, people are mentally drained. Few take the time to sit back relaxRead More anymore. Even when we do have a minute to ourselves, we're constantly bombarded with emails, text messages and status updates. If we unplugged ourselves from our devices, we might find the serenity we all so desperately need. Turn your phone off, take a hike. Find a big tree next to a creek and sit under the shade. Enjoy nature. Listen to the sound of the water, the birds and the breeze as it moves through the brush. When you get back to nature, if only for a short time, you'll leave with a clear mind and feel revitalized. You're right---technology was supposed to make our lives more simple. Instead, it fuels the attention deficit disorder as our brain becomes a hashtag with a constant barrage of (often useless) news and updates. Although I'm young, I'd give anything to go back to the days where calling someone often led to a wild goose chase of finding an available payphone and spare change to make the call.
John April 8, 2013 at 12:57 pm
If you can't talk politics with friends without being able to agree to disagree or even end upRead More losing them as friends then they were not the "friends" you thought they were anyway.
Peter H. Brothers April 7, 2013 at 09:18 pm
It's not about moving forward, it's about saving your breath! That's the whole problem; too muchRead More talk and not enough action! You gonna eat that fish or just hold it up in the air?
Dave April 7, 2013 at 07:29 am
then again, if you only speak with people who agree with you, how do you ever move forward? aren'tRead More you just "spinning your wheels" staying in the same spot never moving forward?