HB Resident Due in Court on Lewd Act Charge

Claudio X. Pinto, who lived in Hermosa Beach at the time of his arrest in March, is due in court in Torrance on Aug. 21 to have a date set to face trial on a charge of loitering "about toilet to solicit lewd acts," according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman.

Pinto, 48, was one of 18 men arrested by Manhattan Beach police when they conducted surveillance of a public restroom on the beach at Marine Avenue.

MBPD acted in response to a request from L.A. County lifeguards who'd noticed increased pedestrian traffic near the bathrooms, the same people returning, some bathroom visits taking more than an hour, and two and three sets of feet in bathroom stalls, according to Officer Stephanie Martin, MBPD's public information officer.

The arrests drew widespread attention when media elected to publish the mug shots of the 18 men and their dates of birth and city of residence. MBPD had released the information.

Leaders of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center were upset that the police department had released the information and photos and that media published them, which, these days, includes circulation on the Internet, in spite of the fact the men had not been charged. They contended the men would be publicly humiliated, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The men arrested lived in Manhattan Beach, El Segundo, Santa Monica, Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Lomita, Los Angeles and East Sussex, England, at the time, according to police.

William R. Jackson of East Sussex, England, has pleaded no contest to engaging in a lewd act. He was ordered to serve one year of probation.

Prosecutors declined to file charges against Glen B. Sears of Los Angeles, citing insufficient evidence.

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