Former Orange County Superior Court Judge Ronald C. Kline has agreed to plead guilty to possessing child pornography on his home computer, ending a four-year legal battle in which he protested that his privacy rights had been violated by the computer hacker who turned him in to authorities.
Kline, who has been under house arrest since 2001, is scheduled to enter his plea to four criminal counts Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
Under terms of a plea agreement filed Friday, the 64-year-old jurist will face a possible 27 to 33 months in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender with California authorities. He could have received a 30-year prison term had he been convicted at a trial.
Details here from the Los Angeles Times.