LOS ANGELES — Jarec Wentworth’s attorneys yesterday asked a federal judge to compel the gay porn star’s alleged victim’s attorney to be called as a witness in his extortion trial that is set to begin in three weeks.
Earlier this year, Wentworth, who worked on SeanCody.com and Men.com productions, was accused of extorting $500,000 and an Audi R8 worth $180,000 from an individual only identified in court papers as "D.B." by threatening to expose his sexual liaisons online.
With trial set to begin on Tuesday, July 7, Wentworth’s attorneys are seeking to introduce testimony from D.B.’s counsel about Wentworth’s relationship with him.
(D.B., according to previous published accounts, is multimillionaire Magic Jack exec Donald Burns.)
Wentworth’s attorneys also are seeking to present evidence from D.B.’s attorney D.B.’s financial interest in porn productions, as well as quantification of referral fees for services through wire services such as Square.
D.B.’s attorney, Douglas Axel, was interviewed by FBI agents outside the presence of his client on March 3, and Wentworth’s attorneys claim he is fair game as a witness in the case.
Axel, however, filed a motion for an order to quash the subpoena that was served to him.
Yesterday, Wentworth’s counsel with the federal public defender’s office, filed a motion in opposition to the order to quash the subpoena, claiming that Axel voluntarily made himself a witness in the case and his testimony can be properly used to impeach D.B. at trial.
In the motion, Wentworth’s attorneys said that Axel will only be called to impeach D.B. if D.B. makes statements at trial that are inconsistent with Axel’s statements made to the FBI.
“Each of the arguments raised by D.B.'s counsel is either factually unsound,
irrelevant to the issuance of the subpoena, or does not support the argument that the subpoena should be quashed,” Wentworth’s attorneys said. “[T]he subpoena should stand and Mr. Axel should be required to testify at trial, if called by the defense as a witness.”
Earlier this year, D.B. asked for the FBI to get involved in the alleged extortion after he said he was initially fleeced out of $500,000 and the Audi in Wentworth’s alleged extortion attempt.
Wentworth allegedly later increased his demands to D.B., asking for $1 million in cash, a motorcycle and a two-bedroom condo in Los Angeles.
According to court records, prosecutors so far have produced discovery to the defense, including 3,423 pages of written reports and records, five audio recordings, three video recordings and two discs containing cellphone digital files.
The prosecutors’ case is largely built on the numerous text messages found on mobile phones of Wentworth and D.B., as well as testimony from a law enforcement agent about the extraction of evidence from defendant’s phone; telephone audio recordings; and bank records.
Wentworth is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles without bail.
The jurist in the case, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, has yet to rule on the latest motion made by Wentworth’s counsel.
