Prosecutors fear Miss America won't testify in Long Island sex sting cases

[kskiska]

Source: AP

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. – An undercover sex sting that used Miss America as bait may be in trouble after the beauty queen told prosecutors that she does not plan to testify against the men she helped arrest.

Lauren Nelson, 20, of Lawton, Okla., worked with police in Suffolk County to target would-be Internet sexual predators, taped for an episode of the TV show “America's Most Wanted.”

She posed as a teenager and lured men into chatting online and meeting her at a home, where police and crews were waiting. Eleven men were arrested in the sting.

But one or all of the cases against the men could be in jeopardy after Nelson told prosecutors she did not plan on returning to Long Island to testify, said Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota in Newsday's Tuesday edition.

Read more: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070501-0450-undercoverbeauty.html

[Skinner]

1. Can't she be compelled to testify?

Any lawyers who can answer this? Can't the prosecution compel her to testify if she refuses to do so?

[mikeytherat]

3. If she spoke with one of the accused, she became a potential witness.

The bigger question is why in the Holy Hell did they use Miss America as bait?

mikey_the_rat

[Frank Cannon]

8. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems pretty obvious that she could be...

subpoenaed for this. I mean, she's an identified witness, for crying out loud.

Seems like the prosecution has a poorly-planned publicity stunt gone awry on their hands. Oh, well. Sucks to be them.

[lapfog_1]

2. My guess is that she had no idea that this would be required

and her schedule will conflict with coming back to testify against 11 or 12 different defendants (each trial could take a week or more and she would have to be available for the entire trial).

Why the hell did they use her instead of a local police woman? If they were using her image, I'm sure she could have OKed that without worry about testifying. Why have her do the chat sessions? Stupid. Publicity stunt? Stupid.

[AlCzervik]

9. i bet you're correct, she or her agents probably figured it was a good way

to garner some free publicity and raise her profile for when she's no longer Miss America.

[Ian David]

17. None of the police women had mastered the special Miss America hand-waving. n/t

[lapfog_1]

19. That's a good one!

you mean this one...



and that translated SO WELL in the chat rooms when she was posing as a minor.

Maybe it was because whenever the pervs asked what she wanted... she would answer "Whirled peas".

[Jokerman]

4. So a stupid PR stunt is going to cost convictions?

Great work there people.

[Ian David]

18. Looks that way! Yay, MEDIA... YAY! n/t

[CK_John]

5. I'd say that is "fair and balanced", she gets them and you try them. n/t

[Egnever]

6. Good

I have a real problem with these online chat gotcha cases. I dont want to see children being abused any more than the next guy but this process of setting people up for tv cameras really bothers me.

What could they wave in front of you that would be illeagle to take that you might be tempted to . I dont like the vice women walking the street pretending to be hookers to get men to proposition them either.

traping people into doing stuff for tv ratings just really leaves a terrible taste in my mouth.

[anotherdrew]

7. entrapment isn't it? n/t

[mikelgb]

15. that is the problem I have with this shit

[bullimiami]

10. what sort of morons wouldnt use a police woman in a sting operation?

seriously, this was all about sensationalism and publicity and its backfiring on them.

[Kali]

12. for entrapment over the internets you don't even have to be the gender you claim

[Bucky]

13. I think the gimmick was justified. You want PR around a case like this

The point isn't just to catch child sex predators, the point is also to deter them. It was certainly cheesy to have a Miss America doing the luring--ironically sexing up this kind of arrest. Since it's online text chatting (I assume) there's no reason they couldn't have used Andy Rooney as the bait. But publicizing this type of crime is exactly what you want to do.

Still, if the "scholarship winner" is refusing to help the cops put such pervs away now, she should be shamed into completing the task she undertook.

[Frank Cannon]

21. Andy Rooney as bait. Now THAT's great television.

I would love to see these idiots show up at the house of a 14-year-old girl and find Andy Rooney sitting there dressed as a teenaged girl, offering them a pitcher of lemonade! I'd actually pay to see that!

"Did ya ever notice that predators make a lot of excuses? Don't you hate that?"

[ShortnFiery]

11. How long are they going to drag out this moronic distraction?

While MSNBC was drooling over the initial story (Hey guys, we have us and ex- Miss USA to help with our stings!?!) Al Jazeera was breaking the MASSIVE PROTESTS (hundreds of thousands) throughout Turkey. Does the forgoing suggest that our asinine M$M is feeding us *distractions* and calling it NEWS? :thumbsdown: :puke:

I despise the traitorous M$M in our beloved USA. They are not just complicit, but part of the scam. :grr:

[loudsue]

14. This sentence says it all in a nutshell:

"Lauren Nelson, 20, of Lawton, Okla., worked with police in Suffolk County to target would-be Internet sexual predators, taped for an episode of the TV show "America's Most Wanted."

It was all for show...a little moment of air time.

Wasn't this the same Miss America that just got out of rehab? Or was that an old Miss America?

:kick::kick::kick:

[Tekla West]

24. I think that was some other beauty show girl in rehab

She has not been to rehab (yet).

[mikelgb]

16. WTF?

"She posed as a teenager and lured men into chatting online and meeting her at a home, where police and crews were waiting. Eleven men were arrested in the sting."

Isn't it a crime to talk someone else into commiting a crime?

and there was no crime! no minor. to tragedy.

in reality if a minor talked an adult into coming over to their place and assured them and lied them to get them to come over, how is the guy to blame?

[Bucky]

20. If she had any self respect she would have slept with them on the spot.

[shenmue]

26. Unbelievable.

:puke:

[mopinko]

22. were they thinking

with the wrong brain? sorta sounds like it.

[Tekla West]

23. Here she comes,

Wow I remember when they opened shopping centers and stuff.

I have a great problem with this type of operation, several in fact.

1- seems its entrapment
2- the reality of the situation is not a crime, she is of age, or in most of them its some doughnut eater, so in fact the perv (and they are sick, no doubt about that) in fact DID NOT make a date with a 14 year old girl, he made a date with a 35 year old cop, which is twisted, but not a crime.
3- I assume that on the net the 'whole truth' is not being told, doesn't everyone. For example, if you look up tekla west, she is not in the phone book. its a screen name, not my real name.

[moggie]

25. Who's the audience for this show?

That's what creeps me out. Sure, by all means flush out and prosecute sexual predators, but as entertainment? The fact that they used a just-past-teen beauty queen as their teen substitute pretty much suggests that they expect the audience to get off on it.

[fortyfeetunder]

27. Bad career move

I don't follow Mess America, but she really bit off more than she could chew in this stunt.

Sounds like she is still in her reign as someone's Mess America (certainly doesn't represent me) and her reluctance to testify may backfire on her on future public appearances.

Certainly if she wanted that much attention she should have waited until she finished her reign....

[militaryspouse]

28. I

wonder who's idea this was.