By Jeff Lipton
In a 17-page decision on Aug. 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted Glenn Marcus, 55, a new trial in the sensational sex-slave case, which dates to 1998, when he first met the woman online.
Marcus was accused of sexually torturing the now 40-year-old woman, who has been identified only as "Jodi." He also posted photos of sadomasochistic acts on a Web site that he forced her to operate eight to 10 hours a day without compensation between November 1999 and September 2001, according to prosecutors.
Marcus was living in his parents' North Woodmere home during the time he carried out what prosecutors described as his "horrific sexual abuses" - from 1998, when he met the woman on the Internet, to May 12, 2005, when he was arrested.
Following a week-long trial in U.S. District Court in February 2007, a jury of seven men and five women found Marcus guilty of sex trafficking and forced labor, ruling that he violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). District Court Judge Allyne Ross sentenced him to a nine-year prison term on Sept. 18.
But the three-judge appeals panel ruled last week since a good portion of the alleged crimes took place before the TVPA was enacted in October 2000, the conviction against Marcus should be thrown out.
The judges ruled that Marcus's conviction violated the Constitution's Ex Post Facto clause.
The appeals court described as a "plain error" the district court's failure to inform the jury of the date of the law's enactment, according to last week's decision, and Marcus never raised an objection during his trial. But it was used as a main argument by the defense on appeal.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment on the decision.
But Marcus's attorney, Herald Price Fahringer, who handled the appeal, said his client was "extremely pleased" with the court decision. He said that Marcus has been held in jail for about eight months, and Fahringer hopes to get bail set for him so Marcus can be released until his next trial. The date for the retrial has not yet been set.
"He's elated over the results of the reversal," Fahringer said of Marcus. "At least he's not convicted anymore, and a trial means another chance."
Marcus met Jodi in an online chat room devoted to bondage, dominance and sadomasochism, according to court records, and persuaded her to travel from her home in the Midwest to Maryland so they could meet, which they did in October 1998, court documents state. During the visit, Marcus whipped Jodi and carved the word "slave" on her stomach with a knife.
The slave-master relationship continued, and he punished the woman when she expressed a desire to leave him in January 2000. Marcus forced her into his parents' basement in North Woodmere, placed a hood over her head, assaulted her with hypodermic needles and a knife and then posted these images on his Web site, authorities said.
In August 2001, when the victim once again asked for her freedom, Marcus took her to the basement of a Hewlett residence of a female acquaintance, bashed her head against a metal beam and bound her ankles and wrists to the ceiling, leaving her there for several hours, prosecutors charged. He then forced her to have sexual intercourse with him, photos of which he also posted on the Web site, prosecutors said.
When the woman finally managed to escape, Marcus threatened that if she went to the authorities, he would send the Web site images of her to her parents and to newspapers to humiliate her.
According to court documents, the indictment charges that Marcus specifically violated the TVPA statute between January 1999 and October 2001.
"The prosecution put into evidence facts which occurred before the [TVPA] statute was enacted as well as after the statute was enacted," said Fahringer, who will handle the retrial. "The [appeals court] said clearly that he could not be convicted for conduct that occurred before the law was passed."
The defense has also maintained that the woman was a willing participant in the sadomasochistic acts, and said she even acknowledged that "she had a good time" with Marcus.
Fahringer called it "a sex case by two consenting adults. It's a matter that has a long history in this country: What people do in their bedroom should be protected."
Comments about this story? JLipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
