STAUNTON, Va. - Attorney Paul Cambria filed motions Tuesday in Staunton Circuit Court to have the guilty verdicts overturned in the city's case against After Hours Video and owner Rick Krial.
Krial and his business were convicted on two misdemeanor obscenity charges in August when the jury found the video City Girls Extreme Gang Bang obscene by community standards. The other video screened during the trial, Sugar Britches, was not found obscene.
Cambria argued in his motion that prosecutor Ray Robertson made improper statements intended to prejudice the jury during the four-day trial. The 29-page filing also cites a lack of proper evidence in the case and attacks the testimony of an "expert witness" who suggested that a performer seen in one of the videos appeared to be underage.
"[Robertson] repeatedly implored the jury to prevent Staunton from becoming like other places," the motion reads. "In doing so, he relied upon numerous facts that were not in evidence, such as the lack of immorality in Staunton and the causal connection between observing sexual material and behavior."
Source: Staunton News-Leader
