| ArsTechnica
Peter Bright Motion For Acquittal on Child
Sex is Denied So Nov 4 Sentencing
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive, Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 16 – Former
ArsTechnica writer Peter
Bright's re-trial for
attempted enticement to sex of
a minor resulted late March 16
in a guilty verdict from the
jury. Photo here.
The
verdict came as other trials
in the SDNY courthouse had
been stayed,
and another criminal trial
with one juror deliberating remotely
from his apartment, in
Coronavirus COVID-19
self-quarantine.
Now
Bright's conviction has been
upheld by Judge Castel on
September 16, which is to say,
his motion for acquittal has
been denied: "ORDER as to
Peter Bright. The Court finds
that there was sufficient
evidence for a reasonable jury
to conclude that Bright
attempted to entice a minor to
engage in illegal sexual
activity in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 2422(b). ... Bright
sought to persuade “Liz” that
he would be an experienced and
able “teacher” of sexual
activity to the minor
“children,” and that she
should arrange for him to be
the one to “teach” them.
(Gov’t Ex. 3A at 2-6, 8-16,
19-24, 26- 30, 46-50.) A
reasonable jury could conclude
that such conduct, in the
context of Bright’s other
activities, amounted to the
charged criminal conduct.
...The defendant's motion for
judgment of acquittal pursuant
to Rule 29, Fed. R. Crim. P.
is DENIED."
Bright's
sentencing has been pushed
back a full two months: "MEMO
ENDORSEMENT [90] LETTER MOTION
Reschedule Sentencing as to
Peter Bright ENDORSEMENT
Sentencing is adjourned from
September 3, 2020 to November
4, 2020 at 11:00am. SO
ORDERED. (Signed by Judge P.
Kevin Castel on 7/31/2020)."
On June
15, with still no trial
resumed, the US Attorney's
Office filed its opposition to
Bright's Rule 29 motion for
acquittal. Full filing on
Patreon here;
it says among other things
that "Bright called Dr. James
Cantor, a clinical
psychologist, and also
testified in his own defense.
Dr. Cantor testified that “age
play” is a type of sexual kink
in which “participants are
pretending that they’re a
different age than what they
are.” (Tr. 310). Building on
Dr. Cantor’s testimony, Bright
testified that when he first
met the mother on KinkD, he
believed she was an “age
player” and that her children
were “littles,” i.e., adults
pretending to be children."
We'll have more on this.
Three days
after the verdict with Inner
City Press which alone covered
the trials being asked many
questions, including about the
ArsTechnica editor who
testified, we offered this:
Conde Nast
/ ArsTechnica official Ken
Fisher (formally, Kenneth
Robert Fisher III) said that
Bright never proposed to write
any article about child sex
exploitation, on ArsTechnica's
Slack or otherwise.
In fact,
Fisher said, to the degree
ArsTechnica cover the
intersection of sex crimes and
the Internet, they had a
deputy editor who wrote their
stories.
On cross
examination by Bright's
Federal Defender, Fisher was
asked, "You are familiar with
his online persona, right?"
Fisher replied yes. Photo of
transcript here. We'll have
more on this.
Back
on February 19 in Bright's
first trial a mistrial was
declared, the day after the
jury sent out a note that it
could not reach consensus. The
judge pushed for a fast second
trial, which has now begun on
March 10. The US Attorney's
Office has sent Michael D.
Maimin to second-chair.
On March 12 with Bright again
on the witness stand, bragging
how he makes "littles order
off the kids' menu," Inner
City Press live tweeted, here:
Bright: I live in
Bushwick... With anal, you
have to know what you're
doing. Real people are not
porn stars.
He says "girl" in
the Bronx was 30, Alicia.
Bright: I'm
pretty sure vibrators are not
used in classrooms. But we
were fantasizing. ... It's
called after-care in the kink
world.
Bright: I know
someone who tweets out her
STDs test results every time.
In the polyamorous world we
are responsible
Peter
Bright: One of the joys of
working at home is I can walk
around naked. #Coronavirus
Bright (looking
at jurors, some mouth agape)
"A lot of Americans have never
seen, at least first hand, an
uncircumsized pen*s"
Peter Bright:
When in photos I'm holding two
Starbucks cups, I'm double
fisting, it's a double
entendre
We'll have
more on this.
Inner City Press covered the
opening arguments, here:
AUSA Alexander
Li: Peter Bright tried to have
sex with a 7 and 9 year old.
He was arrested carrying
condoms, on his way to meet
them.
AUSA Li: You may
find the evidence disturbing.
They met on Kink'd, then
WhatsApp. Bright sent a
picture of his [member]. But
he created a cover story, that
he was a journalist for a
technology web site.
AUSA Li: We will
call as a witness the editor
of the technology website. He
will tell you the defendant
never wrote about child
exploitation, and wasn't
authorized to.\
Federal Defender:
Peter Bright likes kinky sex
with consenting adults. He
likes role playing. On Kink'd,
he was a dominant Daddy, an
age player. We have an expert.
FD: Age
play is legal. Princess Mom
set him up. She used the
language of age play, on
Kink'd. She sent him photos of
children. So he went to gather
evidence. He set his phone to
record
FD: The FBI
got it wrong. He told Princess
Mom where he worked. He is not
guilty.
For these
arguments, at which Inner City
Press was the only media,
there were many lawyers from
each side. More on Patreon
here.
Back on February
27, in a proceeding at which
Inner City Press was the only
media present, the only person
in the gallery, a re-trail
date has been selected: March
10. Federal Defenders
confirmed that their expert
will be available, on March
13. Judge Castel said that all
of his previous evidentiary
rulings apply, and that he
will add to the jury charge
language from his response to
previous jury question 4,
about intention. So it's on.
Inner City Press will cover
it, again. Threadette here.
More including why and what at
second trial on Patreon here.
Bright took
the witness stand on February
13 and called himself an "age
player" and a Daddy. He said
he prefers full bodied women
with a lot of body hair - but
denied that he actually likes
children.
Inner City Press,
which first reported Bright's
presentment on the charges on
May 23, here,
started a Twitter thread about
Peter Bright's matter of the
fact statements about himself,
here.
More on Patreon here.
By the end
of February 18, the jury still
had the case. They passed out
a note, "unable to reach a
consensus." Bright's Federal
Defender Amy Gallicchio asked
for a mistrial, but Judge P.
Kevin Castel instead read the
jury to so-called Allen
charge, to see if that could
break the deadlock.
"Legal Definition
of Allen charge : a charge to
a deadlocked jury to make a
further effort to reach a
verdict especially by each
juror considering the others'
opinions with deference —
called also dynamite charge."
Inner City
Press remained in the
courtroom. An hour went by.
Then two. By they, Inner City
Press chatted with that
appeared to be Bright's
parents, with British accents
and on their way to Balthazar.
They asked if this was normal.
Well, none of it was.
Around 6
pm, the jury passed out a
nother note, that they would
come in on February 19 and
continue deliberating. Judge
Castel told the lawyers that
he would have another case at
that time - another one Inner
City Press is covering, as it
happens - but that he would
direct the lawyers in that
civil case to decamp when the
Bright jury has a note, or
verdict.
But when a
note came out, Bright was led
up to the bench and white
noise turned on. It was
impossible for Inner City
Press, in the gallery, to hear
what was said. By 2 o'clock,
it was mistrial and Judge
Castel was frustrated by
defense counsel not committing
to a March 23 trial date. He
said in his day practicing,
judges just declared days. A
letter is due, when the
defense and their expert
witness canNOT do it. Watch
this site.
Earlier on
February 18, the jurors passed
out a note asking questions,
including to see able the
video of Bright's Q&A with
FBI agents. This was played in
the courtroom, in whose
gallery were only Inner City
Press and two older adults.
But the FBI
Q&A concerned girls of 17
years old - who told Bright
she was "turning tricks" and a
14 year old who Bright said
emailed him photos in panties.
Bright was
asked by the FBI, why did you
respond? Bright said it was
flattering to be flirted with.
But he insisted he prefers or
preferred adults *playing*
young teenagers to young
teenagers themselves. He was
also asked by the FBI why he
was telling an interlocutor
about his foreskin, if he did
not intend to show it to the
young children she
described. What will the
jury think? Inner City Press
has asks for notice when a
verdict comes, but continues
to pass by the courtroom again
and again, to check. Watch
this site.
Back on
February 13 Judge P. Kevin
Castel of the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York let the
jury go to lunch from 12:30 to
1:30 pm, then told the lawyers
to return to discuss the jury
charged at 1:15 pm. Inner City
Press reported, It's coming to
endgame, and it has.
Assistant
US Attorney Alexander Li in
his closing statement
emphasized to the jury the
Peter Bright went to Duane
Park with condoms to meet what
he thought would be children.
Li said Bright is not an
age-playing vigilante trying
to catch the FBI agent but
rather a man attempted to have
sex with children, with a
lesson plan to teach about his
foreskin.
Many
Federal Defenders were in the
gallery for the closing
arguments. Amy Gallicchio had
argued, in writing, that "Mr.
Bright actively engages in
role-playing involving
bondage, discipline, dominance
and submission, sadomasochism,
commonly referred to as BDSM.
He is particularly interested
in ageplay." But what
will the jury think of it?
Watch this site.
Yet more on Patreon here, including on the
case's reference to... Justin
Bieber.
The case is US v.
Bright, 19-cr-521
(Castel).
***
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