City of Pomona apologizes after “inappropriate images” appear in recreation guide
By Austin Turner, Nicole Comstock
Click here for updates on this story
POMONA, California (KCAL, KCBS) — The city of Pomona says it’s working to identify how “inappropriate images” appeared in its summer recreation guide.
In a news release, the city said it’s aware that “some copies” of the recently distributed guide include images that should not have appeared.
“We sincerely apologize to our community, especially to families and children who may have been affected,” the release said. “This content does not reflect the City’s values, and we take this matter very seriously.”
Assistant City Manager Mark Gluba told CBS LA that at least two copies contained pornographic material, as well as other color discrepancies. The images were printed onto the guide, rather than being physical inserts.
“Inappropriate images that we would not associate with our children and families, or with anything that the city stands for,” said Pomona City Manager Anita Scott.
The images were on the guide’s second page, under the “Movies in the Park” header.
A digital edition of the guide appears on the city’s website, although no inappropriate images appear inside.
Pomona said further distribution of the physical edition has been suspended, and an investigation into how the images were printed is underway in coordination with its publishing and printing partners.
“We are working to identify the cause and strengthen safeguards to prevent this from happening again,” the release said. “We recognize this incident has damaged public trust and are committed to transparency as we review the issue and implement corrective actions.”
Scott said that al publications were reviewed by city officials before they were sent to a third-party vendor for printing. Of the 25,000 people on the mailing list for the recreation guide, only a few have reported receiving copies with the explicit images, Scott said, noting that they’ve recovered two of the copies so far.
“We do take the responsibility very serious, and look forward to rebuidling that trust with the company and that begins with transparency and a full investigation,” Scott said.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.