Tuesday, September 28, 2004
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The attorney unmasked as the "naked photographer" will spend a year and a half in jail but won't lose his law license and will be allowed to leave jail to continue work as a law clerk.
Stephen Linnen, 34, must start serving his time next Monday after being sentenced Monday under a plea bargain in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to 53 misdemeanor counts of public indecency, sexual imposition and criminal trespassing.
Judge Tommy Thompson declined to label Linnen a sexual offender, saying he was not a threat to the community and was unlikely to repeat the offense.
The former lawyer for the Ohio House Republican caucus apologized in court, but none of his victims was there. He has admitted to ambushing dozens of women while nude and taking pictures of their shocked expressions over nearly two years.
Thompson ordered Linnen to keep seeking psychiatric treatment. Linnen said in court that he meets with a psychologist weekly and goes to daily meetings for people addicted to sex.
Prosecutors said they might appeal the judge's decision not to make Linnen register as a sexually oriented offender.