Two defendants who claimed they were told a minor in a child porn video case was another defendant's wife are off the federal hook, now that a federal judge has thrown out criminal charges against them.
The dismissal was ordered Wednesday after the U.S. Attorney's Office acknowledge that Rick Welch and Wayne Siegel did not know the girl is in fact the stepdaughter of a co-defendant, according to Tulsaworld.com. They'd faced charges of aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of a child by a parent.
The two men still face a general conspiracy count, but any conviction could bring each no more than five years behind bars - the parental exploitation charges could have brought each man up to 20 years.
They claimed alleged co-conspirator Sean Thomas Julian is the stepfather of a girl said to have been featured in a series of sexually-explicit videos. Tulsaworld.com says they claim to have met Julian through a swingers' magazine and were told by him that the now 16-year-old girl was Julian's wife.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Morgan reportedly acknowledged as much in a Nov. 10 filing, stating she didn't receive case reports until after the original indictment was handed down.
Julian and a fourth man, Truman Wolery, still face conspiracy and parental exploitation. And Morgan says she expects at least one more charge, most likely involving production of illegal videos, to be handed down, perhaps in December, says Tulsaworld.com.
All four men still face state charges, with preliminary hearings scheduled for later this month.
