Former UCLA Athletics official pleads no contest in child porn case
By Sam Hoff
July 21, 2014 3:01 p.m.
A former UCLA associate athletic director pleaded no contest on Monday to a misdemeanor count of possession of child pornography.
Michael Sondheimer, 59, was sentenced to three years’ probation, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office press release. He was also ordered to attend sex offender counseling and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
University police arrested Sondheimer at his home in February. At his March arraignment, he pleaded not guilty to a felony count of possession of child pornography, which prosecutors said he had on a work-issued laptop computer.
In late May, a website called Operation Riptide claimed that Sondheimer attempted to engage in sexual chats with children online.
On Monday, he was ordered to forfeit the laptop, according to the release.
Sondheimer was UCLA’s associate athletic director for recruiting. He was also a member of the UCLA Communications Board, which oversees UCLA Student Media and its student-run publications.
Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin senior staff.
