For nine Utah County residents who already have spent three days watching one sexually explicit videotape after another, the end is in sight.
Jurors in the pornography trial of Larry Warren Peterman, general manager of Movie Buffs video stores, spent Tuesday watching movies with titles like "Oral Clinic" and "The Kink."The now-jaded jury began watching allegedly pornographic videos again Wednesday morning, but the courtroom pornfest is expected to conclude Thursday.
So far, the prosecution's case has consisted of showing the movies and brief testimony from Utah County sheriff's detective Jeff Robinson, who documented the time each movie spends focusing on sex. One of the movies, for example, consisted of 83 percent sex and 17 percent dialogue or other acting, Robinson testified.
After prosecutors wrap up their case Thursday with the showing of the final video, "Shooting Star," defense attorney Jerry Mooney is expected to try to convince jurors that the X-rated version of that movie was planted in the American Fork Movie Buffs store on Oct. 25, 1996, just hours before police confiscated hundreds of videos there.
Mooney contends that all the videos on trial except "Shooting Star" are cable-edited versions, although they clearly depict various sexual acts.
On Wednesday, a court clerk sported a pair of ear plugs to block out sounds from the 36-inch TV screen placed in front of the jury box.