Florida Cuts Deal in Pee-wee Case : Reubens to Plead No Contest Thursday

After more than three months of tasteless jokes, TV satires and water-cooler gossip, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” star Paul Reubens will appear in a Sarasota, Fla., courtroom Thursday to plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of indecent exposure.

Reubens, who was accused of exposing himself in an X-rated theater in his hometown of Sarasota, will be fined $50 by Circuit Judge Judy Goldman and ordered to produce an anti-drug public service announcement, fulfilling a requirement that he perform community service, his attorney said Tuesday.

The deal was offered last week, it appears, after Reubens’ lawyers showed the court a videotape from a surveillance camera in the adult movie theater that allegedly supported Reubens’ claim of innocence.

“This is a plea of convenience,” said Ron Dresnick, one of the Miami attorneys handling Reubens’ case. “It’s convenient all the way around. It’s convenient for the state to allow this kind of plea because it gets rid of the case, and it’s convenient for Paul because it terminates the case without it going to trial and allows him to maintain his innocence.”

“It’s a way to avoid five days of a chaotic trial,” a source close to Reubens confided. “This situation has been devastating to Paul, and he has become almost a complete recluse. This is an opportunity where the prosecution has offered him no record of guilt. He personally feels exonerated.”

A plea of no contest means a defendant doesn’t challenge the charge but doesn’t admit guilt. The exposure charge also would not go on Reubens’ record.

Reubens, 39, was arrested July 26 at the South Trails Cinema in Sarasota, where he was visiting his parents. The actor was picked up by undercover sheriff’s deputies and charged with exposing himself, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. A trial date was set for Dec. 9.

The turning point in the case apparently came Oct. 7 when lawyers representing Reubens disclosed to the prosecution a videotape shot by a security camera in the lobby of the theater on the night of Reubens’ arrest. According to Dresnick, the time code on the videotape showed that Reubens was in the lobby when detective William Walters allegedly saw the actor masturbating in the theater.

Walters claimed in a deposition that he had constant watch over a man he alleges was Reubens for a 20-minute period in the theater. Halfway through that time frame, however, is when Reubens was videotaped in the lobby.

“The tape had a significant impact, because it throws cold water on the prosecution. Right after the tape was shown to the state, we entered into some serious plea negotiations,” said Dresnick, who would not reveal who brought the videotape to his law offices.

“We got lucky,” Dresnick admitted. “I think in my mind it’s somewhat analogous to your famous Los Angeles tape (of the Rodney King beating). It’s a perfect example of the power of the videotape recorder, where police just don’t have any idea who’s watching them. In the past, we always had to go on their word.”

Following his arrest, Reubens and his bow-tied, cherry-lipped Pee-wee character became the subject of a national media frenzy. CBS canceled scheduled reruns of his Emmy-winning children’s series, “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” at the same time celebrities rushed to his defense. Reubens was driven into seclusion, surfacing publicly only once in a dramatic appearance to open the MTV Video Music Awards show on Sept. 5.

“I personally believe it’s too soon to know what kind of effect any of this will have on Paul because we’re still in the heat of the situation,” said Dana Freedman, vice president of consumer television for Bender, Goldman & Helper, the public relations agency Reubens retained after the incident. The agency reported that Reubens has been “flooded” with writing, directing and acting offers for future projects, although he has made no deals.

Reubens was waived from having to appear in court on Oct. 29 because he’s shooting a part in a feature film, “Nightmare Before Christmas.” He is rumored to have an unbilled cameo in the upcoming “Batman” sequel. Director Tim Burton made his directorial debut with Reubens’ 1985 film, “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

“It’s difficult for us to forecast what will happen,” Freedman said. “Paul has rallied support from the entertainment community and the general public. A good example of how people are responding to him was how he was received at the MTV Video Music Awards, where there was a groundswell of support for him. So I can only hope it means good things for his professional and personal future. We’re all very optimistic, but we’re anxious right now to put this chapter behind him.”