A 62-year-old Honolulu journalist yesterday was sentenced to four months in prison and fined $2,500 for possessing child pornography he obtained through the Internet.

James C. Richardson, a copy editor at The Advertiser, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge David Ezra to spend 18 months in home detention after his release from prison.

Richardson pleaded guilty in March and admitted he purchased the pornography from 2001 to 2003 and stored more than 600 child pornography images in his home computer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Tong recommended that Ezra follow the advisory sentencing guidelines calling for a prison term of 37 to 46 months in view of the nature of the crime that exploits children who are "scarred for life."

Richardson's lawyer, Birney Bervar, said Richardson has been diagnosed as suffering from an obsessive-compulsive disorder which resulted in him first collecting nudist magazines and later, child pornography images from the Web sites. He said a psychological evaluation showed he did not have any interest in sexual contact with children.

Bervar recommended a six-month term and two years of house arrest.

Ezra said he did not think six months was necessary and took the unusual step of sentencing Richardson to a shorter term than his lawyer recommended.

The judge said he's convinced Richardson suffers from the disorder and that the potential for Richardson repeating the crime is "quite low." He also noted there is no indication Richardson is a pedophile or has ever molested anyone.

Richardson apologized to the court, his newspaper colleagues and child victims of pornography for his "poor personal choices." He said the Internet searches and purchases were conducted only on his home computer.

Ezra ordered Richardson, who remains free on bond, to start serving his sentence Feb. 6.