Former Metro Police officer fights charge of sex with teen

Bill Gang

Wednesday, Aug. 4, 1999 | 10:05 a.m.

A former Metro Police officer, who admitted he began dating and then married a 14-year-old girl he met while transporting her to Child Haven, wants to withdraw his plea of guilty to statutory sexual seduction.

Adam Paul Huettner, 24, had pleaded guilty to the felony charge over events that are alleged to have occurred between May 1998 and May 1999. The liaison began when the girl was 13, according to the allegations.

He was scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday,but Huettner told District Judge Michael Douglas that he wants to back out of the plea bargain that was going to result in the dismissal of three counts of possessing child pornography.

There are pictures of the teenager without clothing, but Deputy District Attorney Bill Kephart admitted that none showed the girl engaged in sexual acts.

In the motion to back out of the guilty plea, defense attorney David Schieck submitted copies of Mexican marriage records and Huettner submitted an affidavit that claims he never engaged in sex with the teenager before they were married.

A hearing on the issue is set for Sept. 9.

Kephart noted Tuesday that the girl, whom he described as "pretty but looks young," is pregnant and could be due to deliver soon.

Schieck countered that he believes the due date is months away.

Kephart said an early delivery could indicate that conception occurred before the April 15 marriage date and a DNA test could show Huettner's affidavit is untrue.

But the girl has disappeared, Kephart said.

The age of consent in Nevada is 16 and the law states that engaging in sex with a person under that age -- even if consensual -- is a crime.

If the sex involves a person under the age of 14, it is sexual assault of a minor because persons under that age are considered to be to incapable of giving consent.

Engaging in consensual sex with a person 14 or 15 is considered statutory sexual seduction, but the law provides that sex between married persons is not a crime.

Kephart said that is where the case gets fuzzy because he suspects the Mexican marriage may not be valid. He said marriage documents from the state of Michoacan in central Mexico indicate that an affidavit of consent from the girl's mother was provided, but the woman has told prosecutors she gave no such consent.

"There is a difference of opinion between the daughter and mother," Schieck said. "It is our position that the girl got written permission."

Schieck noted that under Nevada law, if a couple believes their marriage is valid and they consummate the marriage, their actions are not considered to be illegal if the marriage is later determined to be invalid.

Huettner, who was a rookie patrolman, was terminated as a Metro officer for unspecified reasons while still on probationary status. The firing occurred before the marriage and the filing of criminal charges, Kephart said.