Man Sentenced in Cheerleader Case : Van Nuys: Steven Ettinger posed as a photographer and made sexually oriented tapes of high school girls.

A Simi Valley man was sentenced to counseling and community service after his conviction Wednesday for posing as a professional photographer and taking sexually oriented videotapes of cheerleaders at Van Nuys High School.

In his third conviction on similar charges this month, Steven Louis Ettinger, 38, a scheduler of commercials at a Los Angeles television station, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of disruptive entry upon school grounds.

Van Nuys Municipal Court Commissioner Mitchell Block placed Ettinger on three years probation--banning him from the grounds of Van Nuys High School for that period--and ordered him to perform 250 hours of community service.

“It basically looked like he had a stocking or a leg fetish,” said Deputy City Atty. George Schell.

In Wednesday’s case, as well as the two previous convictions stemming from incidents in La Crescenta and Lancaster, Ettinger was ordered to donate his video equipment to nonprofit organizations.

As part of his sentence, Ettinger will see a psychologist at least once a week for the next year.

Ettinger had taped seven clothed Van Nuys High cheerleaders. Most of the shots were focused below the girls’ waists, authorities said.

Sheriff’s deputies began investigating Ettinger after he was confronted in September by the vice principal of Christian Middle School in Lancaster. Investigators conducted a search of Ettinger’s home in January, where numerous photos and videos of cheerleaders were recovered.

Prosecutors in all three cases reported that Ettinger claimed that he was on professional assignment when he was approached by school officials.

Ettinger’s attorney, Lynda Breeze, said Ettinger never misrepresented himself. Although he identified himself as an employee of the ABC network, he did not say that he was filming professionally, Breeze said.

“He just wants to get on with his life,” Breeze said. “This man has never touched a child.”

Ettinger was convicted and sentenced last week in Antelope Municipal Court. He pleaded no contest to two counts of being a disruptive presence at a school, was fined $850 and was placed on probation for three years.

Earlier this month in Glendale Municipal Court, Ettinger pleaded no contest to two additional misdemeanor crimes and received a similar sentence.