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Prominent SF Gay Rights Activist Arrested On Child Porn Charges

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) - San Francisco police arrested gay rights activist Larry Brinkin on Friday on charges that he had images of children as young as a year-old engaging in sex acts with adults.

Investigators said the 66-year-old had pornographic images on email attachments that appear to show infants and toddlers being sodomized and performing oral sex on men. Representatives of America Online contacted authorities after coming across the email attachments from one of its subscriber's accounts.

The LAPD traced the IP address associated with the account to Brinkin, who resides in San Francisco, according to court records. The LAPD then forwarded the case to San Francisco police, who executed a search warrant Friday and seized computer equipment.

Brinkin was taken into custody Friday night. He spent the night in jail before he was released on bail. The district attorney's office will decide Tuesday whether to file charges.

"We're still reviewing the case," district attorney's spokeswoman Stephanie Ong Stillman said Monday.

Brinkin worked for the San Francisco Human Rights Commission before his retirement in 2010. During his 22-year tenure at the Human Rights Commission, Brinkin was best known for championing equal rights for gays and lesbians.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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