Thursday June 28 6:17 AM ET

Comic Paula Poundstone Accused of Lewd Acts in LA

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedian Paula Poundstone was arrested in the celebrity-studded beach enclave of Malibu on Wednesday and charged with committing lewd acts upon a child and child endangerment, authorities said.

Poundstone, who appears on the syndicated TV game show ``To Tell the Truth,'' was charged with three counts of committing a lewd act on a child under age 14, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney said in a statement.

The popular 41-year-old comic, known for her political satire and observational humor, was also charged with endangering three other children, the spokeswoman said. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison.

The spokeswoman released no other details.

``I know Paula Poundstone well enough to know that these charges are 100 percent incorrect,'' her manager Bonnie Burns said in a statement.

``She has been an incredible parent,'' Burns said of Poundstone, who has adopted two girls in 1997 and has been a foster mother.

``She's made huge sacrifices to see that children who weren't dealt the best cards in life were well taken care of and she's always shown herself to be completely honorable and full of integrity,'' Burns said.

``I believe when the truth comes out you'll see these charges are unsubstantiated and without merit,'' Burns said.

The District Attorney's spokesman said Poundstone was accused of committing the lewd acts on May 19 and again on June 6 and the child endangerment on June 6.

The Massachusetts-born Poundstone, who also appeared on the game show ``Hollywood Squares,'' was being held on $200,000 bail pending an arraignment on the charges.

-- (leave those @ kids. alone), June 28, 2001

Answers

Why would'nt the manager say the charges are false. Paula is her meal-ticket.

-- (paula.is@real.pig), June 28, 2001.

I heard it through the grapevine that she liked the Andrea Yates idea and tried to give them their final bath.

-- Matt Sludge (tabloid@trash.reporter), June 28, 2001.

Haven't heard that word since the 70's. Lewd. Has a nice ring to it.

-- (Rorer 714 @ good. lude buzz), June 28, 2001.

Just another sordid example of the liberal low-life’s that infest the Hollywood scene. They are all scum and should be shot on site.

-- All (liberals@must.die), June 28, 2001.

Something like this is always just a big mess. From a thousand miles away I never know who to believe. I just let the jury decide.

-- Miserable SOB (misery@misery.com), June 28, 2001.

It's too early to pass judgement. The whole thing sounds fishy to me.

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), June 28, 2001.

"smells fishy" - is that a pun??!!

-- libs are idiots (moreinterpretation@ugly.com), June 28, 2001.

Actually I said "sounds" which I guess should have been "smells."

But no, it wasn't a pun, although I get it.

I just think that it's very easy to bring charges like this. I wouldn't go around calling the woman a "Lewd Lesbian" until the facts are out.

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), June 28, 2001.

Paula's lucky the Peggy McMartin prosecution team isn't around. Then again Peggy was straight and boring. This might turn out OK for her afterall.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), June 28, 2001.

For those of you that might not remember the 'McMartin Saga', I offer this article that was published shortly after her death last year. The Spaniards would have been so proud.

_________________________________________________________________

Thursday, December 28, 2000

Peggy McMartin Buckey, 74, was found unconcious at her California home and prounced dead on December 15, 2000. McMartin should have lived the last years of her life peacefully but instead was one of the victims in a witch hunt that claimed too many lives.

Buckey helped her family operate the McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach, California. In 1983 children who had attended the McMartin Pre- School began telling fantastic tales of ritual sexual abuse directed at them, much of which allegedly took place in secret tunnels beneath the pre-school. Ultimately 349 of 384 students at the pre-school told investigators that they had been sexually assaulted at the pre- school. The fact that there simply no secret tunnels and that the claims of the children proved false in many details did not deter prosecutors from charging McMartin Buckey and others with sexually assaulting children

The case helped kick off a nationwide hysteria about Satanic and ritual abuse of children, helped on by a gullible media. McMartin Bukey was charged with sexual assault, but the case against her fell apart after it became clear that the testimony of the children had been improperly shaped and coerced by social workers who acted as latter day agents of the Inquisition. McMartin Buckey was acquitted on all charges, but was shadowed by the destruction of the business she helped run and the stigma attached to those even accused of sexual abuse of children.

Investigator's relied on the highly specious belief that children always told the truth about such acts and could not be coerced to give false testimony or fail to remember accurately. In a series of experiments, memory expert Elizabeth Loftus demonstreated that it was relatively easy to get young children to falsely believe in events that had never happened.

Unfortunately there are still many people in jail based on testimony gleaned under such coercion or based on psychologists who used false memory techniques on their clients. The hysteria is largely over, but the effects still remain.

-- So (cr@t.es), June 28, 2001.

Paula Poundstone should be incarcerated for impersonating a comedian.

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), June 28, 2001.