YUBA CITY, Calif. - A man who presents himself as an anti-pornography crusader and motivational speaker has been arrested on multiple charges involving sex with a child under 14.
Donny Pauling, 41, was arrested Monday by the Sutter County Sheriff's Office and is being held without bail in the Sutter County Jail.
Pauling was booked on charges of lewd acts with a child under 14, oral copulation with a child under 14 and unlawful intercourse.
Sheriff's Lt. James Casner said a woman and her 16-year-old daughter walked into the sheriff's office Sunday to say Pauling had been having sex with the girl since she was 13.
Casner said the girl had been living in Pauling's home; first in Redding and then for the past two years in Yuba City.
Casner said Pauling was investigated in 2010 for alleged inappropriate relationships with six other underage girls in Redding but the case was never prosecuted.
During Monday's search of Pauling's home on Morgan Way, detectives seized four computers and several cell phones because the girl told investigators Pauling had posted pictures of her on the internet.
On Wednesday, sheets of plastic kept the rain out of a white Subaru parked on Pauling's driveway. A sheet of paper covered a broken window on the front porch of the house.
A neighbor said she heard the glass breaking late Monday night following Pauling's arrest.
A woman who identified herself as Pauling's mother was staying in the home and answered a few questions through the front door.
She said she was surprised by the arrest, but refused to answer when asked if she was aware of the previous allegations in Redding.
According to Pauling's website, he was a producer of pornographic films for nine years beginning in 1997 before becoming a Christian and speaking out about porn industry and its effects on society and individuals.
During a presentation in Australia, Pauling claimed to have convinced at least 500 young women to participate in his productions.
More recently, Pauling spoke at St. Isadore Catholic Church in Yuba City in September.
Parish priest Matthew Blank said he has known Pauling for some time and has never doubted his sincerity. "What I know of him, he's a great guy," Blank said. "Let's just leave it at that."
In a 2008 ABC Nightline program, Pauling debated two porn stars and offered what now seems to be a sadly ironic statement.
"We're intelligent human beings," he said. "And when what we're doing is costing someone else and causing pain to someone else, we probably shouldn't be doing it."
