Pee-wee TV star admits obscenity

Reubens starred in films and TV shows as Pee-wee Herman

Actor Paul Reubens, who played 1980s children's character Pee-wee Herman, has pleaded guilty at a Los Angeles court to possessing obscene material.

But prosecutors agreed to drop a second charge of possessing child pornography.

After admitting the misdemeanour charge, the actor was sentenced to three years of informal probation that means he must stay away from children.

He featured in the Saturday morning Pee-Wee's Playhouse, which ran from 1986-91, and won six Emmy Awards.

The 51-year-old actor will also be able to continue his appeal against the case under his agreement with prosecutors.

'Artwork'

He was arrested in November 2001 and charged with possessing materials depicting children engaged in sexual conduct.

Police found offending material in one book, 25 magazines and one film when they searched his house.

But he argued his collection was "a vast and valuable historical collection of artwork, kitsch memorabilia and adult erotica".

He said the images were made decades before California's child pornography law was enacted in 1989 - with some from the early years of the 20th Century.

Reubens' career as comic character Pee-wee Herman was severely damaged when he was convicted for exposing himself in an adult cinema in 1991.