Watching porn with girl nearby nets man jail time

Watching pornographic videotapes in his automotive shop netted Michael Robert Richard a stint in the county jail last week because a 15-year-old girl was in the business at the time. Sheriff`s officials were notified by the juvenile`s mother and investigated the complaint Friday. They were told by the 34-year-old owner of Lifetime Automotive in the Seven Hills area on County Line Road that he was watching a porn tape while the young girl was sweeping up his shop at 10475 County Line Road. Richard had negotiated a deal with the girl`s mother that the teenager would work occasionally for the mechanic in exchange for his repairing her car. The deputy dispatched to the shop was told by Richard that he asked the girl to sweep the back of the shop while he folded clothes in a bedroom near where she would be sweeping. Richard keeps a private bedroom at the back of his business, which is on the Pasco County side of County Line Road. Richard asked the girl if she had ever watched an X-rated movie before and she said she had not, according to the Sheriff`s report of the incident. Richard locked the front door of his store and went to his bedroom, leaving the door ajar as he watched the movie. The girl told her mother, and later authorities, that while she worked, images from the television set were clearly visible and reported Richard watching a tape involving two women having sex. After several minutes of sweeping the area, the girl told Richard she was going outside to look at a car. She told the deputy the incident made her feel uncomfortable. When a deputy sheriff asked Richard about why he told the girl he was going to watch an X-rated movie, he said, "Because I was doing that all day and I just wanted her to know." He left the bedroom door open to hear if the girl dropped and broke something, Richard explained to the deputy. He knew the girl was 15 and understood that he shouldn`t be watching X-rated tapes with her in the building, an arrest report states. During his investigation, the deputy noticed that the television set was situated in Richard`s bedroom in such a way that it would be difficult not to notice the screen. Five pornographic videos were seized as evidence and Richard was charged with a felony, obscene material. He was taken to the Hernando County Jail.