THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408040597
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
Elizabeth Kelly, who pleaded no contest to charges of molesting children at a day care center, has sued a newspaper for libel.
In the lawsuit filed July 26 against The Daily Advance of Elizabeth City, Kelly sought damages for libel and punitive damages in excess of $10,000.
The lawsuit said the newspaper libeled Kelly in an April 11 editorial that included the sentence: ``By making the plea, she stands convicted of raping small boys and girls.'' The statement is false and was published maliciously, the lawsuit said.
Kelly pleaded no contest Jan. 21 to 30 charges of sexually abusing children at Little Rascals Day Care Center, which she and her husband ran. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.
The charges she pleaded no contest to were: 26 counts of taking indecent liberties with minors, one count of crime against nature, one count of conspiracy, one count of accessory after the fact to rape and one count of accessory after the fact to first degree sex offense.
Attorneys for the newspaper and Kelly declined comment.
KEYWORDS: LIBEL LAWSUIT
by CNB