White River Junction
Jonathan Lazarus accepted a plea deal on Thursday in Windsor Superior Court and pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts related to sharing the videos online; he also pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of physically assaulting the woman, who was known to him.
Windsor Superior Court Judge Theresa DiMauro handed Lazarus a suspended prison sentence and released him on probation conditions. If he violates any of the conditions, which include having no unapproved contact with the victim, he could face up to three years in prison.
Windsor County Deputy State’s Attorney Heidi Remick said the resolution to the case was “appropriate.” In a telephone interview on Monday, she said the state dismissed the trafficking charge because it came with “litigation risks.”
Prosecutors accused Lazarus of producing pornographic videos against the woman’s will and uploading them to different websites, as well as on one occasion coercing her to perform with another woman.
“There was a risk in terms of ability to prove it at trial,” Remick said of why the state dismissed the charge.
The state also dropped a felony lewd and lascivious conduct charge against Lazarus due to a lack of evidence, Remick said.
Lazarus’ attorney, White River Junction-based Michael Shane, said the state “grossly overcharged” the case.
“There is a world of difference between the conduct to which Jon pleaded guilty and the conduct that was alleged at the beginning of this case,” Shane said on Monday via email. “There is absolutely no truth to the allegations of human trafficking. Jon never forced anyone to do anything.”
Shane said his client accepted responsibility for the assault and pleaded no contest to disseminating videos without the woman’s consent “because he was ready to move on.”
The case came to light last September after the woman’s parents went to Hartford police and expressed concern for their daughter’s welfare.
Police ultimately spoke with the woman, who said she had been abused, and an officer soon after arrested Lazarus, according to court documents.
Among other disclosures, the woman told police Lazarus forced her to perform sex acts in front of a web camera that uploaded to a website, according to a police affidavit filed in the case. She told police Lazarus was paid for providing the material, and if she resisted an act, he would threaten her, the affidavit states.
The two misdemeanor charges Lazarus pleaded no contest to stemmed from sharing those specific videos without her consent, court documents indicate. Lazarus, who is self-employed, doesn’t have a prior criminal record, prosecutors said.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.