Judge wants Perry to see handwriting on the wall

Kim Smith

Friday, Nov. 8, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

District Judge Michael Douglas threatened to put sexual assault suspect Franklyn Perry into solitary confinement Thursday upon learning Perry has refused to give handwriting samples to investigators.

Attorney Michael Cristalli said before his client gives a sample Perry wants to see all of the written items seized by police, not just the 19 pieces he has been given.

"You do not negotiate with this court," Douglas told Perry sternly. "This court ordered something to be done and it wants it done."

If Perry does not provide the samples, Douglas said he would have Perry put in "the hole," revoke various jail privileges and indefinitely postpone his trial.

Perry, 62, is accused of persuading a 12-year-old girl to pose for sexually explicit photographs and engage in sex acts while on the phone with him while he was incarcerated in the North Las Vegas jail.

Prosecutors say Perry initially denied knowing the girl, but authorities found letters allegedly written by him to her. Prosecutors say the handwriting samples will prove he wrote the seized letters.

Douglas scheduled the sexual assault trial for Jan. 27.

Perry is also facing more than 500 fraud-related charges in a separate trial. He is accused of bilking more than 1,100 people out of a total of $40 million in a Ponzi scheme.