tyketime
09-17-2008, 11:27 AM
This goes beyond being just a sick bastard:
In an emotional closing argument yesterday, a defense attorney for accused Delaware County child-molester John Jackey Worman implored a federal jury not to engage in "vigilante justice," but to acquit his client of child-porn charges based on what most people would consider a technicality.
It's a tall order, considering that less than 24 hours ago, the jury had been watching a video of Worman committing unspeakable acts of sexual abuse on a 3-month-old infant.
"I assume right now that you hate John Worman," said his court-appointed attorney, Mark Cedrone. "Guess what? He's not on my dinner invitation list, either."
Worman, 41, of Colwyn, is facing up to 1,680 years in prison if convicted of 55 counts of manufacturing and one count of possessing child pornography.
The burly, ashen-faced man can be seen clearly in many of the photos and videos that authorities confiscated in 2006. Police recovered 1.2 million still images and 11,000 video clips and have identified 12 children Worman allegedly abused over a nine-year period.
In order to convict him of the federal charges, however, the government must prove that Worman produced the child porn using equipment that was manufactured outside of Pennsylvania.
"What those children had to endure is horrible, despicable," Cedrone said. "That's not what's at issue here."
Cedrone argued that prosecutors have not linked many of the images to a specific camera, and, therefore, cannot prove that interstate or foreign commerce was involved. He said forcing the jury to view pictures of Worman molesting children - one juror needed a break last week because the images were so repulsive - was a "diversionary tactic" by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella.
"Mr. Worman is not on trial for what he did to those young girls. He is on trial for whether he manufactured child pornography," Cedrone told the jury. "There's no federal crime for abusing a child. If you don't like it, write your congressman."
Rotella said that downloading, copying or saving images to a computer's hard drive - where many of the pictures were eventually recovered - is also part of the production process, and that all of the hard drives, cameras and other equipment used were manufactured out of state. She called Worman's defense a "desperate" attempt to beat the charges, each of which carry a 15-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.
In an emotional closing argument yesterday, a defense attorney for accused Delaware County child-molester John Jackey Worman implored a federal jury not to engage in "vigilante justice," but to acquit his client of child-porn charges based on what most people would consider a technicality.
It's a tall order, considering that less than 24 hours ago, the jury had been watching a video of Worman committing unspeakable acts of sexual abuse on a 3-month-old infant.
"I assume right now that you hate John Worman," said his court-appointed attorney, Mark Cedrone. "Guess what? He's not on my dinner invitation list, either."
Worman, 41, of Colwyn, is facing up to 1,680 years in prison if convicted of 55 counts of manufacturing and one count of possessing child pornography.
The burly, ashen-faced man can be seen clearly in many of the photos and videos that authorities confiscated in 2006. Police recovered 1.2 million still images and 11,000 video clips and have identified 12 children Worman allegedly abused over a nine-year period.
In order to convict him of the federal charges, however, the government must prove that Worman produced the child porn using equipment that was manufactured outside of Pennsylvania.
"What those children had to endure is horrible, despicable," Cedrone said. "That's not what's at issue here."
Cedrone argued that prosecutors have not linked many of the images to a specific camera, and, therefore, cannot prove that interstate or foreign commerce was involved. He said forcing the jury to view pictures of Worman molesting children - one juror needed a break last week because the images were so repulsive - was a "diversionary tactic" by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella.
"Mr. Worman is not on trial for what he did to those young girls. He is on trial for whether he manufactured child pornography," Cedrone told the jury. "There's no federal crime for abusing a child. If you don't like it, write your congressman."
Rotella said that downloading, copying or saving images to a computer's hard drive - where many of the pictures were eventually recovered - is also part of the production process, and that all of the hard drives, cameras and other equipment used were manufactured out of state. She called Worman's defense a "desperate" attempt to beat the charges, each of which carry a 15-year mandatory minimum prison sentence.