JANESVILLE, Wis. -- Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of former NFL star Mark Chmura, charged with sexually assaulting his children's 17-year-old former baby sitter during a drunken prom party.
The 31-year-old player could get up to 40 years in prison if
convicted. The party was held at the home of Robert Gessert, a friend of
Chmura's, after a high school prom last April.
Gessert, 43, was charged with fondling a woman at the party. He and Chmura have denied any wrongdoing.
Chmura joined the Green Bay Packers in 1992. An avid supporter
of family charities and conservative politics, he refused to meet
with President Clinton after his team's 1997 Super Bowl victory and
made disparaging comments about the president's morals.
At a hearing Monday, a key witness in the case, 17-year-old
Michael Kleber, said he changed his initial statement because he
thought it would make the district attorney happy and because he
was afraid of being cited for underage drinking.
Chmura's lawyer, Gerald Boyle, argued that Kleber's revised
statement was coerced and should not be allowed at the trial.
Circuit Judge Mark Gempeler did not immediately rule on the
request.
Kleber, a high school football player who was drinking at the party, initially told police April 11 that he saw the 17-year-old girl enter a bathroom after Chmura with a "smile." He also said that after she left the bathroom, the girl ran down the basement stairs and fell to the ground.
In his revised statement a month later, Kleber said he didn't see the girl go into the bathroom and didn't recall any observations after that.
When Boyle questioned the teen-ager Monday, Kleber said he gave the revised statement out of fear.
Kleber said he was hoping to get a scholarship to play college
football and feared a ticket for underage drinking would jeopardize
that. Kleber also said District Attorney Paul Bucher had threatened
to arrest anyone who lied. Prosecutors denied that.
Kleber said he intends to stick with his original statement when
he testifies during the trial.
The mother said her family doesn't plan to sue Chmura for damages if he is convicted.
The woman said her daughter was responsible, with good grades and no discipline problems, though she had previously drank alcohol and drank at the prom party.
Her daughter testified during a preliminary hearing in May that she entered the bathroom after Chmura gestured to her and called her over. The mother said her daughter told her she didn't yell or fight Chmura in the bathroom because "he was so big" and she was
in shock.
She told the Journal Sentinel her daughter is ready to testify during the trial, but devastated that network Court TV plans to broadcast the trial live.
Chmura's lawyers plan to argue that the girl's hymen was intact after the party, proving he didn't assault her. Prosecutors contend it is not unusual for the hymen to remain intact after a sexual assault.
The mother said her daughter is studying at a college where the case receives little attention.
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