Attorneys Want Charges Dismissed In Sex Tape Case
MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) — Attorneys for two Nebraska hockey players charged with making a sex video with a 15-year-old girl at a Moorhead motel last winter have called her a "sexual predator" and say it's unfair to prosecute their clients for something she initiated.
Thomas Carey and Brandon Smith, both 19 at the time, were suspended indefinitely from the U.S. Hockey League's Lincoln Stars in June after they were charged with using a minor in a sexual performance, possession of child pornography and distributing pornography.
KFGO-AM reported Wednesday that the players' attorneys filed motions in Clay County District Court this week asking the judge to dismiss the charges for "abuse of prosecutorial discretion." They argued that the players' alleged actions weren't what the Legislature had in mind when it criminalized child pornography, even if the allegations "satisfy the literal requirements of the relevant statutes."
Clay County Attorney Brian Melton denounced the lawyers as "contemptible" for attacking the alleged victim.
"It is truly abhorrent and disgusting," Melton told KFGO.
The attorneys' filings said the girl instigated the encounter because she was competing with another woman to have sex with as many players as possible.
"If anything, she was a sexual predator taking advantage of" the players, the filings said.
The filings said she wanted photos and videos of the players having sex with her so she could "document her conquest" for her collection and that she sent them around to other players.
The attorneys cited an affidavit from their own investigator, Chuck Anderson, who said the girl sent Facebook and other messages and nude photos to several Lincoln players in hopes of having sex with them after a game against the Fargo Force. She told at least one player she was 16 even though she was 15 ½ at the time, he said. Anderson also said the girl threatened to press charges against Carey and Smith afterward unless they sent her a shirt or hat signed by all players on their team.
The attorneys, Jade Rosenfeldt and Joe Friedberg, defended themselves against Melton's denunciation.
"The information that was supplied in that motion is facts of this case that we think need to be considered by the court," said Rosenfeldt, who represents Carey.
The Associated Press does not typically identify people who may be victims of sex crimes.
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