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PRINCETON: Judge to peruse Facebook data of sex assault victim

Information could implicate or absolve suspect

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A Mercer County judge will review the Facebook page of a teenage girl to see if it contains any information that potentially could absolve or even further implicate the man charged with sexually assaulting her in Princeton last year.
Judge Robert C. Billmeier on Tuesday limited the scope of his review to one week before and one week after the encounter between David Stevens-Parker, 22, and a 16-year-old girl on April 13, 2013, in Mountain Lakes Preserve.
Defense attorney Andrew Mark Ferencevych had asked the judge to conduct the review in hopes of finding something that will absolve his client. His original request was much broader, asking for the defense to review the Facebook records without any restrictions.
The judge will look for any communications the girl might have had about the alleged crime. Specifically, he will look for anything between her and two other people also involved in an afternoon of drinking and sex in the park that day.
Mr. Stevens-Parker, indicted on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault, is accused of giving the girl liquor, then having sex with her after she got drunk. He has pleaded not guilty and contends the sex was consensual. He was in court for the hearing and is free on $75,000 bail.
Assistant Mercer County Prosecutor John Carbonara objected to Mr. Ferencevych’s request. He said authorities have no reason to believe the girl’s Facebook page has anything on it related to the case.
But in giving his rationale for reviewing the social media page, the judge said the victim was not being put through a hardship and noted there might be information that benefits Mr. Stevens-Parker.
The judge warned, however, that when he reviews the site, he might find something that could help the Prosecutor’s Office in its case.
"That’s always a possibility. It could be a double-edged sword," Mr. Ferencevych said in court.
The girl will have to provide her password and other information that will enable the judge to inspect the Facebook page from his chambers. Neither Mr. Ferencevych nor Mr. Carbonara will be present at that time.
The judge will not directly subpoena Facebook for the records.
"I don’t want to get Facebook involved because that will take time," he said from the bench.
The encounter between Mr. Stevens-Parker and the girl happened in the daytime. Bryan Espina-Martinez and a 15-year-old girl helped set up a meeting in the park that included them and Mr. Stevens-Parker and the 16-year-old, Mr. Carbonara said in court. Mr. Espina-Martinez and Mr. Stevens-Parker are friends, he said.
Princeton police arrested Mr. Espina-Martinez on charges of sexual assault and related offenses involving the 15-year-old girl. Mr. Stevens-Parker was charged with sexually assaulting the 16-year-old and also serving alcohol to a minor. Mr. Stevens-Parker’s alleged victim was of the legal age to give consent to have sex, although authorities alleged he gave her vodka, then took advantage of her when she was drunk.
Mr. Espina-Martinez, 21 at the time of the incident, reached a plea deal with the Prosecutor’s Office and received a five-year suspended sentence in December.
Mr. Stevens-Parker is due back in court Oct.20. The first-degree sexual assault charge, the more serious of the two offenses he was indicted for in January, carries up to 20 years in state prison.