Outrage as man who abused 'sex slaves' prepares to defend himself by saying it was all just S&M
12-06-2012 / UK 14:57:00
Marilyn Bagley, 47, pleaded guilty to abuse of young woman in Missouri
Husband Edward, who faces life in prison, said it was consensual S&M
Husband Edward, who faces life in prison, said it was consensual S&M
By Louise Boyle
PUBLISHED: 15:19 EST, 6 December 2012 | UPDATED: 15:57 EST, 6 December 2012
Out of control: Ed Bagley is charged with torturing a teenager whom he kept captive at his Missouri home from the age of 16
A woman pleaded guilty today to helping her husband keep a young woman locked up as a sex slave in their rural home.
Marilyn Bagley, 47, and husband Edward had been scheduled for trial in February on multiple charges including sex trafficking.
Prosecutors allege Edward Bagley, 45, persuaded a 16-year-old girl to live with the couple in Lebanon, Missouri.
They
say she was then given drugs and tortured until she was hospitalized in
February 2009. The girl was a runaway and mentally disabled.
The Bagleys had claimed the sex acts were consensual and part of the sexual lifestyle they practiced.
Defense attorneys plan to show evidence of 'sadistic sexual assaults'.
The girl allegedly suffered water-boarding, electric shock, piercing and mutilation, according to the Kansas City Star.
Marilyn Bagley was in court this morning for an unannounced appearance.
Her plea deal has recommended that she be sentenced to probation.
Her husband faces life in prison for his prolonged torture of the young woman.
Four
other men have been charged for allegedly paying Bagley to have sex
with his 'slave' and to watch webcam sessions of her being tortured.
The
girl, who cannot be identified, featured on the cover of S&M
magazine Taboo in 2010 - and her 'Master Ed' was also photographed
holding a rope.
The sordid case has caused some S&M advocates
to fear a negative reaction to their lifestyle choices, which have come
to public attention partly because of E.L. James's novel 50 Shades of
Grey.
Some worry it could open up people who
practice bondage, dominance, sadism and masochism - or BDSM - to
criminal charges for consensual acts they're already performing, said
Susan Wright, founder of the Baltimore-based National Coalition for
Sexual Freedom in September.
Manipulation: The victim appeared on the front cover of fetish magazine Taboo (the woman pictured is not involved in the trial )
'We are following this case specifically because we were hoping this issue would not come up,' she said.
Ed
Bagley is accused of grooming the young woman to be his sex slave from
2002, then keeping her captive for years while making money from her
images on fetish Internet sites and forcing her to work as a dancer at
strip clubs.
The case
came to light in early 2009 after the woman, then 23, was hospitalized
after what prosecutors said was a torture session. Then-U.S. Attorney
Beth Phillips called the case one of 'the most horrific ever prosecuted
in this district'.
Advocates for the BDSM community
say even the most brutal acts detailed in Bagley's federal indictment
are not criminal acts, as long as there was consent
But if the woman was too young or not intelligent enough to
consent, as prosecutors allege, or if she initially gave consent and
then changed her mind, it amounts to criminal sexual abuse.
Horrors: The young woman, who is mentally disabled, was drugged and kept as a sex slave at the Bagleys' trailer
Popularity surge: S&M is on the rise since the release of 50 Shades of Grey, according to sex experts
As in several other states, Missouri assault laws limit
instances in which consent can be used as a defense against criminal
charges when serious injuries occur.
Exceptions
generally are made for athletic activities and the victim's occupation
or professions in which the conduct and harm are reasonably foreseeable
hazards.
Wright's group contends 'serious physical injury' is not well-defined under law.
'The
assessment of the seriousness of harm is often affected by judges'
"moral judgments about the iniquity of the conduct,"' the organization
says on its website in a section focusing on the consent issue.
'Courts
tend to inflate the risk and harmfulness of an activity they want to
denounce. For example, any injury caused during a sadomasochistic
encounter has been consistently classified as serious.'
Wright
notes that regardless of the legal precedent, prosecutors' attempts to
present acts between Bagley and his wife as evidence in the Missouri
case also comes at a time when kinky sex practices appear to be gaining
broader public acceptance amid the popularity of the E.L. James 50
Shades of Grey bondage books.
'Because of 50 Shades of Grey, a lot of people are trying BDSM for the first time this year,' she said.
'We
want to be sure they understand they have to do these activities
consensually, and to make sure they have the skill to do them safely.'
____________
Fuente: http://www.capitalbay.com/uk/277505-outrage-as-man-who-abused-sex-slaves-prepares-to-defend-himself-by-saying-it-was-all-just-s-m.html
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