Huston Huddleston Conviction Result

Earlier this year news broke that Floyd Huston Huddleston, founder and CEO of the New Starship Foundation LLC, was arrested on March 24, 2018. Stemming from incidents reported in 2013, a five-year FBI investigation lead to the arrest on felony charges for three counts relating to: 1) contacting a minor with intent to commit a felony act (§288.3(a)), 2) hiring or employing a minor to perform sexual acts for production of child porn (§311.4(a)), and 3) possessing pornography produced with the use of a person under 18 (§311.11(a)). Huddleston plead “not guilty” to all three charges. He was detained and with a bail set at $750,000.

Following a jury trial on June 20, 2018, documents released have revealed Huddleston withdrew the “not guilty” plea on the third count and instead plead “nolo contendere” (a “no contest” plea by which a defendant in a criminal prosecution accepts conviction as though a guilty plea had been entered but does not admit guilt). Huddleston was found guilty and convicted on the third count. As a result Huddleston has been placed on a 3-year probation during which he must submit to search and seizure including electronic devices, was ordered to serve 126 days in Los Angeles county jail (although he was credited time already in custody and good behavior), ordered to pay a total of $520 in fines, must complete a 52-week sex offender counseling program, and will be registered as a sex offender.

Huddleston has been removed from participating in a planned panel at the upcoming San Diego Comic Con 2018 convention, although at this time it appears the New Starship Foundation will continue to have a booth in the exhibitor hall. Whether Huddleston will be present at the booth is presently unknown.

Huddleston gained prominence in the Star Trek community in 2012 after salvaging the majority of a Paramount-created reproduction of the USS Enterprise-D bridge set which was used for a tour display after the original screen-used set was destroyed while filming Star Trek Generations. His plans to turn the restored bridge into an interactive museum piece snowballed into a larger science fiction museum project named the Hollywood Sci-Fi Museum, and then expanded to include a second museum named the Hollywood Horror Museum. Early volunteers for the New Starship Foundation observed and reported behavior and business practices by Huddleston which were deemed unprofessional and criminally suspect. Many in the community are now left wondering about the future of the New Starship Foundation and the museum projects.

by Deyvid