Editor of Street Pulse newspaper convicted of making secret sex tapes


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Posted by madcityradio.com on May 01, 2009 at 11:40:20:

Editor of Street Pulse newspaper convicted of making secret sex tapes

By ED TRELEVEN | WSJ


The editor of a Madison newspaper targeted at the homeless was convicted Thursday of secretly videotaping himself having sex with his girlfriends after the women testified he did so without their consent.

But in an unusual turn of events, William C. Workman, 45, was immediately ordered by Circuit Judge David Flanagan to give Madison police a DNA sample so they can finish investigating an encounter discovered on one of the tapes that appears to depict a non-consensual knifepoint sexual assault.

Assistant District Attorney Doug McLean said police had earlier gotten a DNA sample from Workman, but the state Crime Lab could not enter the sample into a national DNA database because Workman was not a felon. The verdicts Thursday made him a felon, McLean said.

He said Madison police have asked police in cities where Workman has lived if they have any reports of an incident like the one depicted in the video. Workman has talked with police about the tape, McLean said, but "the responses we have received have not allayed our concerns; it has added to them."

Workman�s attorney, Ben Schulenburg, said the video is 15 years old and depicts consensual sex and role playing.

"The accusation is horrible," he said.

Felons are required by state law to submit a DNA sample, but it normally isn�t collected until after sentencing, which in Workman�s case will be in about two months, McLean said.

Workman, 45, editor of the Street Pulse newspaper, which covers issues affecting the homeless, was convicted of 15 counts of capturing an image of nudity without consent. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 3-1/2 years of combined prison and extended supervision.

Workman�s two-hour trial was held without a jury at Schulenburg�s request. The only testimony was from the five women depicted in the videos and from Madison police Detective Clare McCoy. Workman decided not to testify.

Flanagan�s verdict closely followed a Dec. 30 decision by a state appeals court that upheld the conviction of a former Waunakee High School teacher who secretly videotaped his then-girlfriend in the nude, even though she willingly appeared nude in front of him.

Citing today�s "age of the YouTube," Flanagan said the state Legislature correctly banned videotaping and photographing people in the nude without their knowledge or consent.

Schulenburg argued that because Workman made no attempt to show anyone else the videos, he maintained the victims� expectations of privacy.


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