New Jersey
Ex-Olympian pleads not guilty to attempted murder in shooting
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) - A former Olympic equestrian charged with shooting and wounding a woman at his training center last summer pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of attempted murder.
Michael Barisone did not speak at length during the hearing, which came about two weeks after he was indicted by a Morris County grand jury.
Authorities have said the Aug. 7 shooting culminated a lengthy dispute involving Barisone and a couple who had been living and training horses at Barisone's farm in western New Jersey, where he also trains horses and riders. Barisone has claimed the couple violated a verbal agreement to leave once they were finished with the training, and police had been called several times to the home in the 10 days leading up to the shooting.
Barisone allegedly shot 39-year-old Lauren Kanarek twice in the chest and then tried to shoot her fiance, Robert Goodwin, but missed. Authorities say Goodwin then tackled Barisone to the ground, disarmed him and held him until Washington Township police arrived.
Kanarek was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent extensive surgery to repair damage to her left lung. She is out of the coma and continuing to recover.
A judge ruled in August that Barisone should remain jailed without bail pending his trial.
Barisone is an accomplished dressage rider. He was a member of the 2008 Olympic team and a coach of a 2016 Olympian.
Wisconsin
Doctor finds Milwaukee acid attack suspect fit for trial
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A 61-year-old Wisconsin man accused of throwing acid in a Latino man's face during a racist attack is competent to stand trial, according to a doctor's report released to court Monday.
Clifton Blackwell, who is white, is charged with first-degree reckless injury in a case that's being prosecuted as a hate crime. He's accused in the attack on Mahud Villalaz in Milwaukee in November after accusing him of being in the country illegally and invading the U.S. Villalaz suffered second-degree burns.
Blackwell spoke little during a brief court appearance in Milwaukee County District Court on Monday, saying he wouldn't contest the findings. Blackwell had previously said he didn't think an evaluation was needed.
If he's convicted on the reckless injury charge, Blackwell could face a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. But designating the case as a hate crime and charging him with use of a deadly weapon could add sentence enhancers of 10 years more in prison.
Blackwell is due in court again Jan. 14 for a preliminary hearing. He remains held on $20,000 bond.
Massachusetts
Families fight against new labor regulations for au pairs
BOSTON (AP) - A group of families in Massachusetts is fighting a recent court ruling that found that au pairs should be treated as employees entitled to minimum wage.
An organization called Au Pair Families of Massachusetts is planning to lobby for legislation in the Statehouse on Wednesday, the Boston Globe reported on Sunday.
A federal court ruled on Dec. 2 that au pairs in Massachusetts were entitled to earn state minimum wage and overtime, which could raise host families' costs by as much as $333 per week.
Many host parents agree that au pairs should have additional protections but argue that the new changes will make the program less accessible in a state that has some of the nation's highest childcare costs.
The au pair program, which is overseen by the U.S. State Department, was launched as a cultural exchange program in which young people live with families in other countries while helping with childcare and some housework.
Massachusetts host families paid au pairs at least $197 a week for a maximum of 45 hours of work before the ruling. Now families that require 45 hours of care will be expected to pay up to $528 a week.
Kansas
'Satanist' soldier in bomb case seeks to change plea
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Attorneys for an Army infantry soldier who prosecutors describe as a Satanist plotting to overthrow the U.S. government notified a court on Monday that he intends to change his plea.
Jarrett William Smith pleaded not guilty in September to charges of distributing explosives information and making a threatening interstate communication. A court notice shows a change of plea hearing is set for Feb. 10 in Topeka.
Smith was a private stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He's accused of providing information about explosives to an FBI undercover agent and threatening to burn down the house of an anti-fascist.
Authorities say he also wanted to car bomb a major news organization.
California
Women win 3M in lawsuit against porn site
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The owners and operators of a San Diego-based porn website must pay $12.7 million after a judge found them liable for fraud and breach of contract for lying to women about how their explicit videos would be distributed, according to a court ruling Thursday.
The site, GirlsDoPorn, was sued by nearly two dozen women who claimed they were deceived and coerced into making sex videos without knowing the footage would be posted on the internet, the Union-Tribune reported.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Kevin Enright, who presided over a four-month-long trial, ruled in favor of all 22 plaintiffs and against a total of 13 defendants, the newspaper said.
Among the defendants are website owners Michael James Pratt, 36, and Matthew Isaac Wolfe, 37, and adult film actor Ruben Andre Garcia, 31.
Attorneys for the defense were not immediately available for comment.
Enright found that the individuals and various affiliated businesses had operated as a single business entity and therefore all were liable.
He awarded the women $9.45 million collectively in compensatory damages and $3.3 million in punitive damages.
The judge also granted the women's request for ownership rights to their images that appeared on videos produced by the defendants and were posted on several adult websites. In addition, the judge ordered the defendants to take down the women's sex videos.
The judge also ordered the GirlsDoPorn website owners to prominently post in recruitment ads that videos would go on the internet. Women who sign up to make the videos must get copies of the legal agreement ahead of time and give permission before their names or personal information are used.
"The money's one thing but these guys have ruined (the plaintiffs') lives and we have to clean this up as much as possible," Ed Chapin, attorney for the women, said after the judge issued the decision.
At trial, defense attorneys argued that the women were over 18, understood what they were doing, accepted payment and in some cases returned to San Diego again and again to make more videos. The plaintiff's attorneys said the videos were not immediately posted on the internet and defendants later refused requests to take down the films.
Some of the women testified that although they accepted performing sex on camera to earn money, including paying for college, the subsequent publicity ruined their lives and careers.
The women were identified in the suit only as "Jane Does 1-22."
Published: Tue, Jan 07, 2020
