"Guilty plea in taping of senator’s wife" Associated Press June 09, 2015
CANTON, Miss. — A man accused of videotaping the ill wife of a US senator during a heated election campaign pleaded guilty to conspiracy on Monday.
Clayton Kelly, 29, of Pearl, Miss., faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Sentencing was set for June 15.
‘‘We are pleased that Clayton Kelly did accept responsibility for his actions,’’ District Attorney Michael Guest said outside the courthouse.
Prosecutors are dropping two other felony charges against Kelly.
Kelly was accused of shooting a brief cellphone video of the wife of Senator Thad Cochran while she was bedridden with dementia in a nursing home.
Images of Rose Cochran appeared online briefly in the 2014 election, during a tough Republican primary that Cochran eventually won over a Tea Party-backed state senator, Chris McDaniel.
Prosecutors said an investigation showed no direct link between the McDaniel campaign and the video of Rose Cochran, although Kelly and the others who participated in the conspiracy had openly supported McDaniel.
Investigators say Kelly was one of several people who conspired to produce the video suggesting the senator was having an affair. The Cochran campaign said he was not involved in an improper relationship.
During pre-trial motions earlier Monday, Circuit Judge William Chapman III ruled that Kelly could not use a First Amendment defense.
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If this guy turns up dead in jail.... !!!
