Charge of sexually explicit comic book changed just before trial

<p>The trial of a comic book store owner accused of giving a sexually explicit comic to a 9-year-old was postponed Monday after prosecutors said the recipient actually had been his 6-year-old brother.</p><p>Jury selection was about to begin in the case against Gordon Lee, but defense attorneys asked for a continuance after learning the district attorney had amended the original charges, which involved a comic depicting artist Pablo Picasso in the nude.</p><p>District Attorney Leigh Patterson said her office learned about the younger child over the weekend. The original indictment was dismissed and early Monday prosecutors filed a criminal accusation, which does not have to go before a grand jury, Patterson said.</p><p>Defense attorney Alan Begner of Atlanta, who along with Rome lawyer Paul Cadle is representing Lee on behalf of the New York-based Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, said he was surprised that the charges were changing after a year and a half.</p><p>"This is an unprecedented change of events for me," Begner said. "I've never had a case where the facts changed right before trial."</p><p>Patterson said the change was not unprecedented.</p><p>"Once we found out that the 6-year-old was involved, we did not want the case to suffer because of the lack of his name. So we amended the accusation, which is not unusual," she said.</p><p>Patterson said police reports had never mentioned the little brother.</p><p>The trial likely will be held this summer, she said.</p><p>The allegations stem from a free Halloween handout on Oct. 30, 2004. Court documents state one of Lee's employees handed the child an inappropriate comic, called Alternative Comic #2.</p><p>Lee was charged in February 2005 with distribution of material depicting nudity and sexual conduct and distribution of harmful material to minors. Most of the charges were dismissed, and the new criminal accusation lists two misdemeanor counts of exhibition of harmful materials to a minor. It names both boys as alleged victims.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdc128)</p>