Wife might testify in chat room seduction case

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, April 9, 2003 | 8:25 a.m.

The wife of a Henderson man who pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges related to alleged use of the Internet to lure a teen into sex might testify against him.

Karen Skewes, 33, and her husband, Marc Skewes, 41, were arrested last month for allegedly using the Internet to communicate with an FBI agent posing as a 14-year-old girl in a Yahoo chatroom between January and March.

An amended indictment filed in District Court Friday lists Karen Skewes as a witness before the grand jury that later indicted her husband.

Marc Skewes pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 31 felony counts, which included charges of using technology to lure children and possession of child pornography. He is being held at the Clark County Detention Center. Bail is set at $500,000.

Though Karen Skewes is referred to as a co-offender in the indictment, she was not charged. The transcripts of the grand jury proceeding have not been made public.

Karen Skewes has negotiated with prosecutors and is expected to enter a plea Thursday in a hearing before District Judge Donald Mosley, her attorney John Momot said.

Momot declined to comment further.

According to the indictment, Karen Skewes played an active role in the alleged crime.

The document alleges that Karen Skewes initiated several sexual conversations with the agent and sent the agent obscene photographs of herself via a web camera.

Marc Skewes is a citizen of the United Kingdom who has been in the United States for only a few years, his attorney, public defender Jordan Savage, said. Savage declined to further comment on the case, saying he wanted to see the grand jury transcripts first.

Skewes is the second person to be charged in Clark County under the technology statute, which was created by the 1999 Legislature.

Anthony Ciesinski, 42, faces similar charges in connection with his alleged use of a computer in an attempt to lure what was an agent posing as a 14-year-old boy to meet at a local hotel for sex.