Attorney Charged in Alleged Child Porn Case

Agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Glendale Police Department have arrested an attorney on a felony complaint charging him with possessing child pornography and an assault weapon.

Deputy District Attorney Susan Schwartz of the Justice System Integrity Division (JSID) said Walter Loustari, 57, of Glendale, was arrested without incident at his law office in nearby La Canada. He is expected to appear for arraignment on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court Department 30 in downtown Los Angeles.

Loustari (dob 3-14-1951) was charged in a felony complaint for arrest warrant following an investigation by ICE and the Glendale Police Department. The criminal complaint (BA348342) charged Loustari with three felony counts of possessing materials depicting the sexual exploitation of a child and one felony count of illegal possession of an Uzi assault rifle.

If convicted of the crimes, Loustari could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in state prison. He is being held on $95,000 bail.

The ICE investigation of Loustari began in October 2006 as part of its investigation of an alleged hardcore child pornography site on the Internet. The investigation included execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s Glendale apartment.

Attorney Nabbed in Sting Involving Reported Girl

A Westside attorney charged with attempted lewd acts on a child and other crimes after he allegedly exchanged Internet messages with someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl was arrested by the FBI in connection with a case filed last week by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Justice System Integrity Division.

David A. Cohn, 50 (dob 7-11-1958), was arrested without incident at his Woodland Hills home, authorities said. He was booked into Van Nuys jail and released after posting $190,000 bail.

Cohn, with a West Hollywood area law firm, will be arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court Department 30 in the downtown Criminal Justice Center. A date for his arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

Deputy District Attorney Susan Schwartz filed the felony complaint for arrest warrant (BA 343414) against Cohn on July 15. The attorney is charged with four felony counts and one misdemeanor that, if convicted, could lead to imposition of a six-year, six-month maximum state prison term.

The complaint alleged the bulk of the crimes occurred between July 17 and July 31, 2007, when the defendant allegedly was exchanging messages on the Internet. Although he thought the person with whom he was chatting was 13, authorities said, it actually was an FBI agent who is part of the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team.

The felony count alleging possession of matter depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct occurred on Aug. 3, 2007, according to the complaint. That was a few days after investigators executed search warrants and seized evidence from the defendant’s home and office.