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Arroyo Grande councilman sentenced to nine months

July 12, 2011

Former Arroyo Grande City Councilman Ed Arnold Jr. was sentenced to nine months in jail today after pleading no contest to felony counts of residential burglary and possession of child pornography. [LompocRecord]

San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera ordered Arnold to surrender himself on September 19. He is likely to serve two-thirds of his sentence – six months.

In addition, Arnold must register as a sex offender and serve three years of formal probation, during which time he can’t access the Internet. Because he is now an Oregon resident, Arnold must contact probation officials in the county where he lives to enroll in a program for batterers, the Lompoc Record said.

The alleged victim, a city employee identified only as Jane Doe, read a statement in court asking that Arnold be sentenced to the maximum two years in prison, the Lompoc Record said.

Arnold had been charged with first-degree residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting corporal punishment on a spouse or cohabitant, criminal threats, possession of an assault weapon and two child pornography counts. Before the plea agreement, he faced up to 10 years in prison.

In 2009, Arroyo Grande police arrested Arnold after a woman who he and his wife had an affair with said he assaulted her. He allegedly broke into her home, threatened to kill her and attacked her with a metal club.

During a search of Arnold’s Pismo Beach home in January 2010, Arroyo Grande police discovered a video of an underage foreign exchange student and photos of what appeared to be underage girls.

Police suspect Arnold used a hidden camera during the summer of 2005 to video the then 16-year-old while she showered. The woman, from Spain, confirmed she is the subject of the video.


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Shameful sentence!


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“…a woman who he and his wife had an affair with…” Videotaping minors in the shower. Child porn. Wow. How did this level of dysfunction achieve elected office? Good riddance to bad rubbish.


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Nine months for breaking into a girl’s home with intent to rape, assult and/or kill her with a metal pipe?

This is how our justice system make the big bucks?


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Lets see here,


Leona Helmsley- 18 months in the pen for tax evasion,


Tommy Chong- 9 months + $20K for selling bongs,


This guy 9 months for burglary and child porn.


That just dosn’t seem to add up. Once again it seems like the system has it’s priorities a bit screwed up.


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TQueen, the creepiest thing about Arnold was that he had that webcam up so he could secretly record the 16-year-old exchange student taking her showers! That is just sick and perverted.


I cannot believe that the country the student came from has not sued.


I hope the people in Oregon are aware that they have a pedophile in their state. I understand pedophiles love to go to the beaches in the summer when young minor girls wear swimsuits. I think it was in San Diego where they banned registered sex offenders from being anywhere near beaches.


This sentence is a slap in the face to all women. And to think the AG City Council supported Arnold until the very, very end.


Great thing to have to live with: those who run our city support perverts and pedophiles as council members.


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Hey, when Barry LaBarbra was the District Attorney, one of his D.D.A.’s got caught with child porn on his computer at work, and another employee (or two) used the victim witness fund as the petty cash draw. And we elected him a judge! Who’s minding the store? Who cares? Use a public records request…go to prison….


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I hear the inmates are well fed.

They eat better than some of us do.


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They also get better medical care.


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Jeesh…is there no end to the graft and corruption of the public officials in the SLO area? I monitor this website from Oregon and I’m continually amazed by the breadth and depth of the slime and stain on the “people’s officials.” Someone needs to go through all the public buildings in the SLO areas with a big fire hose and wash all that scum out to sea. Why don’t the people down there wake up to what’s being done to them?


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You’re in Oregon? Well, look out, because Arnold lives in your state now.


You might want to put up posters with his picture so that minor girls are aware of the danger of being around him…and also so their parents can help keep an eye out for him.


This type of crime has a very, very high recidivism rate. Fat chance keeping a pedophile away from the internet, especially since the internet is accessible from so many mobile devices.


Also, Dennis, part of the reason that this sleeze in SLO has been able to continue is because the main newspaper here, the tribune, has coverage of local news of importance that is basically the equivalent of a journalistic hand-job.


In addition, in reality, there are only so many hours in a day, and many activists’ time are already booked on issues they have been covering for years.


Finally, the one publication that does cover the news. CCN, is underfunded. Another journalist or two, an ad person to sell ads, and other support staff would make a lot of difference. I hate to think of all the important issues Karen simply is not able to get to. I live in Arroyo Grande, and our city government has as much credibility as a drug addict working in a pharmaceutical evidence room.


Anyway, look out for Arnold and inform your fellow Oregonian peeps about the threat living in your state.


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mary malone. You are so on point with the comment regarding arroyo grande government/officials lack of credibility. crooked as a dogs hind leg. Has been for many years.


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The Douchebag got off easy. He should have received the full potential sentence because he DID what he was accused of doing.


And he gets to surrender himself in September? What now? Maybe a couple months in Cancun on the family money?


Hopefully he’ll just get run over by a truck between now and then. Karma’s a bitch, Eddie Boy.


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ITA, Bob. He had a hidden webcam with which he videoed a 16-year-old foreign-exchange student?


I guess he gets to surrender in September so he won’t miss the beach season….you know how pedophiles love to watch young, minor-aged girls in their swim suits at the beach.


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