Woman awarded judgment in sex tape case

By Edith Brady-Lunny
eblunny@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- A McLean County judge approved a default judgment Monday against two men sued by a woman over a sexually explicit video she claims was made without her consent.

A confidential agreement also has been reached with a third man accused of participating in the October 2004 incident, said Mark Johnson, the woman’s attorney.

A Dec. 20 hearing is scheduled to determine the amount of damages the woman is entitled to receive.

The Pantagraph has not identified the woman’s identity in criminal and civil proceedings connected to the accusations because she is the victim of an alleged sex crime.

Named in the civil lawsuit filed in April are Thomas Robert Hawkins, Jeff Young and Kenneth McCoy. Hawkins and Young were acquitted in March of criminal sexual assault and eavesdropping charges related to the woman’s complaint. Young is the woman’s former boyfriend.

Criminal charges were not filed against McCoy.

Johnson said Hawkins and Young, who are serving prison terms on matters unrelated to the civil case, did not offer a defense in the civil matter, which sought more than $50,000 from each defendant.

Young, 45, was sentenced to a total of 28 years in prison in September for assaulting and videotaping another woman and selling cocaine. Hawkins, 35, is serving a 12-year term for sexually assaulting three minors.

In testimony at the trial for Hawkins and Young, the alleged victim said she found a video in April 2005 made by Young. He admitted to having another tape that she later saw and turned over to police.

The woman contends she was heavily intoxicated and has no memory of the events that occurred at Young’s home. She admitted that she and Young had consensual sex earlier in the evening but she was unaware that Hawkins switched places with Young at some point.

The civil action alleges the three men caused the woman extreme anguish, embarrassment and mental suffering. VIA pantagraph

Technorati Tags: Judge, Sextape

A prayer service has been held outside the house where the bodies of missing teenagers Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol were found.

Police are continuing to assess evidence collected at the property in Margate, Kent, following the discovery of the remains.

Peter Tobin, 61, is charged with the murder of 15-year-old Vicky, from Redding, near Falkirk, who disappeared in 1991.

Miss McNicol, an 18-year-old student, from Tillingham, Essex, went missing the same year on her way home from a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire.

A service was held for the girls outside 50 Irvine Drive in Margate, led by the Rev Arthur Houston of the nearby Holy Trinity Church.

A fund has been set up in memory of Miss McNicol by her former school, Chelmsford County High School for Girls, which Miss McNicol attended between 1985 and 1991.

A school spokesman said: "Staff remember her fondly as a sweet girl who worked hard and achieved well. The school was very shaken by her disappearance at the time. A fund is being set up in school in memory of Dinah."

Proceeds will go to the Essex Police Benevolent Fund and the Missing People charity "in recognition of the efforts of both organisations to find Dinah after her disappearance", the spokesman said.

Miss McNicol's father also paid tribute to the police and the charity. In a statement released through Essex Police, Ian McNicol, 68, said: "I would like to thank the police involved in finding my daughter. We are so indebted to them, as well as the Missing People charity. I would also like to thank all the people who have sent cards and letters. We are really very grateful.

"Also, Chelmsford County High School for Girls has been fantastic and a special thanks to the headmistress. My deepest thoughts are also with the family of Vicky Hamilton." Via dailystar.co.uk

Technorati : Dinah McNico, Missing case, Vicky Hamilton