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'Never seen a request like this' Prosecutors counter defense's dismissal motions
Posted: Friday May 26, 2000 09:02 PM
WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) -- A prosecutor filed motions Friday opposing defense requests to dismiss sex-related charges against Green Bay Packer tight end Mark Chmura and another man stemming from a post-prom party April 9. Chmura, 31, and friend Robert Gessert, 43, have been scheduled for preliminary hearings Tuesday. Chmura is accused of having sex with his drunken 17-year-old baby sitter on a bathroom floor. Gessert is accused of fondling an 18-year-old woman in a hot tub at the same party, held at his Hartland home in the early morning hours of April 9. The defense lawyers have contended the criminal complaint is so full of explicit details from the party that it violates the defendants' rights to due process and makes it impossible to find an impartial jury. Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher told WTMJ-TV of Milwaukee that there is no assertion in the defense motions that the complaint lacks probable cause that crimes were committed. "Our motion indicates that there's no law to support the request" for dismissal, he said. "We've never seen a request like this. And maybe that's why there's no law to support it." Gerald Boyle, Chmura's lawyer, said the criminal complaint 'is so out of the mainstream that it has created an unbelievable backlash of negativity for my client's right to a free trial.' Martin Kohler, Gessert's lawyer, said there was "nothing unexpected" in Bucher's response to the dismissal motions. "The way the state handled the dissemination of information in that complaint is outrageous, unfair, unjust -- and it should be dismissed on that basis," Kohler said. Chmura faces one count of third-degree sexual assault, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines. The tight end also was cited for failing to prevent minors from drinking. Gessert faces one count of third-degree sexual assault and one count of fourth-degree sexual assault, a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine. Gessert was cited for supplying alcohol to minors.
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