Newberg says it was not rape but seduction

Erica D. Johnson

Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003 | 9:22 a.m.

A Las Vegas man accused of sexually assaulting his 14-year-old relative and videotaping the incident told jurors in District Court Tuesday that he is guilty of statutory sexual seduction, but that he is no rapist.

Steven Newberg, who faces 13 felony counts including sexual assault of a minor and using a minor in the production of pornography, testified on his own behalf in his trial before District Judge Michael Cherry.

Prosecutors allege Newberg raped the girl during the summer of 2001. Newberg claims the sex was consensual.

It will be up to jurors, who viewed the tape last week, to decide if Newberg is guilty of sexual assault or the lesser charge of statutory sexual seduction, which implies consent. The lesser charge carries a sentence of one to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, compared with the life sentence Newberg faces on the rape charges.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberating this morning.

Newberg, 37, said he made phone calls from the Clark County Detention Center to family members asking them to encourage the girl not to testify because he faced a possible life sentence for crimes he didn't commit.

"It was wrong. I'm really sorry for what I did," he testified. "I'm not going to sit here and tell the jury I'm not guilty of a crime because I know I am. If I was facing what I did -- seduction -- I'd take my punishment."

Newberg said he and the teen, now 16, began joking about sex shortly after she arrived in Las Vegas from Los Angeles to attend a concert at Sam Boyd Stadium.

"There was some flirting going on," he said. "We had a conversation about sex. Then there was an ongoing teasing conversation throughout the week."

Newberg said the teen agreed to have sex with him, but she did not want him to videotape the incident. Newberg lied to her and told her the videocamera was not recording, he testified.

"She seemed reluctant to have it taped, but she didn't seem upset about having sex," he testified.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Lisa Luzaich said the alleged victim could be heard during the taped incident saying "no" 11 times and "stop" 12 times.

Under cross-examination, Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon asked Newberg what he thought the alleged victim meant when she said "no."

"Sitting (in court) it sounded very bad," Newberg said. "It sounded like she really meant no. But at the time, I took 'no' to mean hurry up. I never forced her. If she would've pulled away from me or meant no, it would've been no."

In his closing arguments, Herndon urged jurors to use common sense when deliberating the case.

"No means no," he said. "Everybody knows that. There's no wiggle room on that one. What can't anyone understand about no? Mr. Newberg doesn't get to tell you what she meant. She said no."

But during his closing statements, Deputy Public Defender Steve Immerman argued that is not always the case.

"No can mean yes when you're in a playful position," he said. "There was playful sexual bantering. The 'no's' were playful. A lot of times people start off saying no and eventually end up saying 'yes.' "

Immerman urged jurors to return with a verdict declaring Newberg guilty of sexual seduction, not rape.

"When you think of rape you think of fear," he argued. "When you look at this tape you don't see fear. This was a seduction, not a rape. Seducing a minor is wrong. It's a crime. But to make it more than it is, that's also a crime."