JONESBORO, Ark. – An area couple each facing nine felonies for filming pornographic videos in public got off easy with probation and fines last week in Craighead County Circuit Court.
Leslie Lanae Sessions, 33, and Derek Calloway, 39, both of Trumann, were facing prison time after being charged with three counts each of:
- Public display of hard-core sexual conduct
- Sale, possession, or distribution of obscene film
- Promoting an obscene performance
Each charge is a class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. They could, in theory, have been sentenced to 54 years in prison and to pay $90,000. Instead, they each pleaded guilty on Thursday to three counts of misdemeanor indecent exposure. A suspended imposition of jail for one year was ordered by Judge Cindy Thyer, on condition they pay $1,190 in fines, court costs, and fees.
The investigation began when Street Crimes Unit investigators received tips that Sessions was performing sex acts in public while Calloway filmed it. The pornographic videos showed the two at various Jonesboro locations from Cheddars to Home Depot. The videos centered around the fetish of engaging in sexual behavior at forbidden/public locations. Under the name MayvenDoll, the two posted videos in various locations. They attained hundreds of thousands of views on some videos.
The couple had their Trumann home raided in 2016 by SCU and Trumann police for making the porno videos. It appeared to be a money-making venture for the pair before the police raid.
Their attorney, Randel Miller, had previously called their raid and prosecution a “clear abuse of state power.” He filed motions in August to declare the three statutes under which they were charged unconstitutional. No formal response was filed before the plea bargain was reached.
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