Patrick Naughton \nLOS ANGELES - He went from one of the Internet's pioneering demigods to one of its most notorious sex defendants. Former Web wonder boy Patrick has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges, in a case involving his online relationship and alleged try at an in-person sexual rendezvous with a 13-year-old girl - who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.
The San Jose (CA) Mercury News says Naughton sat calmly in court until his turn before the judge came, when he answered questions and entered his plea. ``At this point, we believe he's not guilty," his attorney, Donald Marks, told the Mercury News. "We will go to trial, and we believe we will prevail.'' But Marks - whose law firm also represented Heidi (the Hollywood Madam) Fleiss - did not indicate what Naughton's defense would be.
A federal grand jury has indicted Naughton for traveling between states for sexual activity with a minor, using the Internet to try arranging sex with a minor, and possessing more than one child porn image on his laptop computer. He could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted, but the actual sentence could prove less, especially if he were to plead guilty.
The 34-year-old defendant was an Infoseek vice president when he was arrested in mid-September in Santa Monica after approaching a girl authorities say he'd arranged to meet using Internet chat rooms. The "girl" turned out to be an FBI agent.
And the case stunned both his former colleagues and the online world in general, considering Naughton's reputation in the high-tech world. He began his career at Sun Microsystems in Silicon Valley, where he pushed to create the Java programming language which helped nourish the rise of the Internet. From there he went to Starwave in Seattle, where he was a key in creating Web sites for mass consumers, including ESPN's SportsZone and the ABC News site.
However, Naughton's career had hit a temporary holding pattern when Starwave was bought by Infoseek, one of the Web's top search portals. What his role would have been as Starwave was folded into a huge organization - Infoseek is now merging with the Disney Corp. - was not yet made clear by the time he was arrested. Naughton left Infoseek within days of his arrest.
Civil libertarians could well question the sting tactic which led to Naughton's arrest and argue that the case is weak because a real child turned out not to have been involved.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Donahue tells the Mercury News it doesn't matter that a real child was not endangered by Naughton's acts. ``We have to prove his intent was to have sex with a minor,'' she says. ``That's what our burden is. I think we're very lucky not to have a sexually victimized child that we have to contemplate putting on the witness stand.''
Naughton goes on trial Nov. 30. He is free on $100,000 bond.
