NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- Prosecutors said Tuesday they expect Miss America Laura Nelson to testify in several Long Island child sexual predator sting cases after all.
The office of Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota had said earlier that pageant officials said Nelson would not testify because of a scheduling conflict. But Spota said in a statement that he had spoken with an attorney for the Miss America organization and was told Nelson would be available, the Long Island Press reported.
The 20-year-old beauty queen had helped police arrest 11 alleged sexual predators by going online posing as a 14-year-old girl. The stings were featured on the Fox TV show "America's Most Wanted."
The prosecutor criticized the operation earlier, calling it a "publicity stunt" his office would have opposed had it known of it ahead of time, the newspaper said. But he later termed Nelson's participation an important key to prosecuting the cases.
"The integrity of the evidence, and the ultimate disposition of the criminal charges against the eleven defendants, is what's important now," Spota said in the statement. "Ms. Nelson's involvement in this criminal investigation makes her continued participation in the prosecution of these defendants absolutely essential."
