Attorneys for Tyler Kost, a 19-year-old in Arizona charged with raping 13 victims between ages 13 and 17, say several of his accusers framed him after being inspired by the movie John Tucker Must Die. The defense found Facebook chat messages from three of the accusers planning to "teach a lesson" to Kost with references to the 2006 film. The prosecution provided more than 98,000 pages of social media records to the defense, but Defense Attorney Michael Alarid says he needs records from eight more people to further investigate the plot.
Prosecutor Shawn Jensvold says the chat records don't indicate the 10 other victims were involved in any plot to frame him and that the defense hasn't shown a sufficient need for the additional records. Facebook won't provide the defense with the additional records, as its privacy policy only allows law enforcement agencies to make requests for information. The prosecution doesn't have access to the records either.
Kost was arrested last year after a tip to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office accused him of raping five victims. He was charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor. Detectives later found eight more victims with allegations against Kost.
[via AP]
