Ex-day care worker pleads guilty in child porn case

Wednesday, April 21, 2004 | 9:33 a.m.

A former day care worker charged with sexually assaulting and making pornographic videos of at least three young boys pleaded guilty Thursday.

Kimya Winbush, 27, entered a plea agreement with prosecutors that reduced the 40 initial charges against him to: sexual assault with a minor under 14 years of age, lewdness with a child under 14, use of a minor under 14 in producing pornography and possession of child pornography.

The plea agreement calls for Winbush to spend at least 30 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Winbush pleaded guilty to videotaping and taking photographs of three boys from his neighborhood as he molested them. Winbush also pleaded guilty to taking explicit photographs of children at the Creative Beginnings day care center, 5345 E. Bonanza Road, where he was an employee for two years.

Winbush admitted to each charge as District Judge Valorie Vega read the detailed allegations against him. Halfway through Winbush began to sniffle as Vega described the sexual acts he admitted to performing on at least three boys between the ages of 6 and 11.

Vega cleared the courtroom of other inmates before hearing Winbush's guilty plea. The judge also scheduled Winbush's sentencing date for June 18, a Friday morning on which she has no other criminal hearings on calendar.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon said the plea agreement allowed prosecutors to obtain guilty pleas on the maximum amount of charges without forcing the young victims to testify.