YOUNGSTOWN Case of pandering obscenity to minors results in plea deal

Prosecutors will recommend two years of probation.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 65-year-old West Princeton Avenue man faces up to a year in prison but could get probation for obscenity charges.
Hurley J. Quackenbush pleaded guilty Friday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to one count of attempted pandering obscenity involving a minor.
Assistant Prosecutor Deena Calabrese said she will recommend two years of probation when Quackenbush is sentenced Jan. 9 by Judge R. Scott Krichbaum.
Under Ohio law, he could be sentenced to up to a year in prison. Judge Krichbaum will have the final word on sentencing, despite the prosecutor's recommendation.
Calabrese said she's not pushing for a prison sentence because of Quackenbush's age and the fact that he has no other criminal record.
Charge reduced: A county grand jury indicted Quackenbush in September on one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor. The charge was reduced in exchange for his guilty plea.
Calabrese said authorities were called in July to an abandoned house owned by Quackenbush to investigate a report that he was trying to pay two young boys to come into the house.
Police went into the house and found pornographic material in an upstairs bedroom, Calabrese said.
Defense motion: Quackenbush's attorneys, Marc Dann and John Falgiani, had filed a motion seeking to prevent prosecutors from using the seized material at his trial.
They argued that police had no reason to go into the house because Quackenbush and the boys were already outside. Therefore, the search violated Quackenbush's civil rights, they said.
A hearing on the motion was set for Friday but was canceled when Quackenbush decided to plead guilty.
bjackson@vindy.com