East Texas

By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer

Journalists won a small victory Tuesday when State District Judge Jack Skeen Jr. ruled to remove the usual restrictions placed on witnesses from a Tyler Morning Telegraph reporter subpoenaed by a defense attorney to testify in a change of venue hearing in a case involving sexual exploitation and abuse of small children.

During an emergency hearing Tuesday morning, Skeen ordered that Casey Knaupp, the newspaper’s court reporter, and any other journalists would not be barred from reporting on what has become known as the Mineola Swinger’s Club case.

“Judge Skeen’s ruling ensures that journalists assigned to cover the legal system can work in a free environment, fulfilling their responsibility to accurately and fairly report matters of community interest,” said Tyler Paper Executive Editor Jim Giametta.

“Although Judge Skeen’s order applies to all journalists covering this case, it is the newspaper’s position that the subpoena, which appears broad in scope and relevance, can be removed in the interest of a free press and not restrict journalists’ ability to do their chosen work,” Giametta said.

Skeen further ordered Defense Attorney Thad Davidson to cease from giving interviews to media outlets or making allegations about relationships with reporters and prosecutors in the case.

“It’s the attorneys who are concerned with pretrial publicity who are out there creating the publicity. That is finished. Do you understand me?” Skeen said from the bench. The judge then entered a restrictive and protective order in the case to restrict information attorneys and witnesses in the case can discuss outside the courtroom.

The rule is invoked on witnesses in court cases to keep the witnesses from discussing the merits of the case with other witnesses or anyone outside the courtroom.

Skeen stated the rule did not apply to Ms. Knaupp or any other media representative, allowing all media to report on the case.

Davidson, who represents Patrick “Booger Red” Kelly in a case alleging the sexual abuse and exploitation of children forced to perform sex acts and dance for adults, subpoenaed Ms. Knaupp, KLTV reporter Danielle Capper and Smith County Assistant District Attorney Joe Murphy and all of their phone records for a change of venue hearing set for 8:30 a.m. Monday in Skeen’s court.

Davidson told The Associated Press before Skeen issued the gag order in the case that relationships between the two female reporters and the prosecutor in the case may have resulted in biased coverage, thereby tainting a jury pool.

Responding to Davidson’s allegations, Ms. Knaupp said, “I am in the business of reporting the news, not making the news. I keep my personal and professional lives separate.”

Ms. Knaupp and Murphy, two single adults, dated, but the relationship ended more than five months ago, long before the trials in the Mineola Swinger’s Club case began.

“The allegations by Thad Davidson that my coverage of this case is biased are wholly unfounded,” Ms. Knaupp said. “I believe anyone who reads my articles will see that.”

Attorneys for the newspaper agreed Monday to give Davidson more time to prove up his subpoena of Ms. Knaupp, which calls her as a witness and requests her personal phone records, any recordings or written information she may have in regards to the case.

The newspaper attorneys have filed a motion to quash the subpoena, which would take Ms. Knaupp off the witness list. The Smith County District Attorney’s Office acting as the state has also filed a motion to quash the subpoena for Murphy. Both hearings are scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday.

In the state’s motion presented Tuesday morning, Smith County Assistant District Attorney Mike West said it was the court’s decision on what information is discoverable by a defense team.

“It is certainly not at the whims of any criminal defense attorney, who for whatever disingenuous purpose chooses to use his status as a licensed attorney to harass and attempt to intimidate a prosecutor by attempting to intrude upon his or her private lives,” West stated in the motion. “The subpoena seeking personal information from the state’s prosecutor in this case reeks of the obvious intent to harass and/or intimidate Mr. Murphy.”

West finished his motion by writing that the defense has made “outrageous and unsworn statements without bothering to verify the factual basis of their statements.”

Kelly, 41, of Tyler, is charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and aggravated assault of a child for allegedly forcing two young siblings to have sex with each other in 2004. He faces five years to life in prison for each charge.

The defendant is also charged with tampering with evidence for allegedly destroying evidence in the case, including costumes the children wore when they performed for the audiences and videotapes of the children performing skits and having sex with each other. Kelly faces two to 10 years in prison if convicted of the third-degree felony.

The victims in the Mineola Swinger’s Club case — three siblings who are now a 10-year-old girl, a 9-year-old boy, a 7-year-old girl and their 9-year-old aunt — all have testified that Kelly and his co-defendants taught them beginning at age 5 how to dance and perform sex acts in “kindergarten,” then forced them to dance and have sex with each other in front of an audience at the Mineola Swinger’s Club. The defendants collected money for the performances, but only paid the children with food. The children were also given “silly pills,” or drugs, before they danced in the club.

In November 2004, Child Protective Services began investigating allegations of neglect and drug abuse. What they discovered, after the children were removed from the home in March 2005, were children suffering ongoing sexual abuse and exploitation.

Defendants in the Mineola Swinger’s Club case who are awaiting trial include Dennis Boyd Pittman, Rebecca Pittman, Shelia Darlene Sones, and Jimmy Dale Sones.

Jamie Pittman and Shauntel Loraine Mayo have both been convicted in the case and sentenced to life in prison.