A former West Covina planning commissioner was sentenced Monday to 12 years and seven months behind bars for distributing, receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material.
Herbert Redholtz, 74, of West Covina pleaded guilty in June 2024 in downtown Los Angeles to five felonies: two counts of distribution of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He also admitted to possessing hundreds of images and videos of sexually explicit material involving children, including infants and toddlers.
According to his plea agreement, from at least April 2014 to November 2014, Redholtz knowingly distributed, received and possessed child pornography using his personal email account. Specifically, he possessed hundreds of illicit videos and images, which he accessed from his personal computer while at home.
Redholtz’s email account contained approximately 448 images and 109 videos depicting sexually explicit content involving children as well as 402 images and 25 videos depicting child sexual material. The account also contained about 1,109 emails containing evidence of similar images sent to or from Redholtz’s email address, federal prosecutors said.
Redholtz admitted in his plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court that he knew the production of such visual depictions involved minors, including victims under the age of 12 years old being used for sexual acts, including infants and toddlers.
Redholtz was charged in Los Angeles Superior Court after his arrest in March 2021 for allegedly possessing CSAM. That charge was dismissed so the federal case against Redholtz could proceed.
California records show Redholtz held multiple jobs between 2011 and 2021 in West Covina, including serving on the planning commission and the community and senior services commission.