LOUISIANA
The Times-Picayune
By Ken Daley, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
A New Orleans jury has begun deliberations in the trial of Kenneth “Kenny” Klein, the nationally known Wiccan priest and folk music performer from the Garden District facing 20 counts of possessing and distributing child pornography. Jurors retired to decide the case at 5:38 p.m.
Klein, 62, is charged with one count of pornography involving a juvenile under the age 13, and 19 counts of possession with intent to distribute pornography involving juveniles under the age 17. He faces 10 to 40 years in prison if convicted of the first count, and 5 to 20 years on each of the other 19 counts.
The three-day trial has been remarkable for its gut-wrenching nature. It marked the first time in the eight-plus years of District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s tenure that illicit images of children engaging in sexual activity have been shown to a trier of fact in Orleans Parish, be it a judge or a jury. Security was tight. Discs containing the contraband videos were hand-carried to and from the courthouse by a DA’s office investigator in a locked case, and after conclusion of the trial were placed into court custody under seal.
The panel of nine women and three men deciding the case appeared agonized Wednesday, as excerpts from each of the 20 videos Louisiana State Police investigators said were recovered from Klein’s computer were played over the course of about 35 minutes inside the darkened, silent courtroom of Criminal District Judge Byron C. Williams. Tears welled in the eyes of several jurors, while others clutched their chests tightly. Some ultimately closed or averted their eyes after viewing just a few seconds of each new exhibit.
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