Trial date set in sex trafficking, abuse case

The federal sex trafficking trial of two men, one from a prominent Main Line family, accused of engineering a sexual triangle involving a teenage girl, has been scheduled for later this summer.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter formally set Sept. 14 as the date for the beginning of jury selection in the cases against Lawrence “Larry” Jamieson of Willistown and John Brown of Norristown. If found guilty of the charges against them, they could be sentenced to life in prison.

The trial had initially been scheduled to begin on June 12. But an attorney for Jamieson, Arthur Donato of Media, filed a motion to continue the case ear lier this month, telling Pratter that he was “actively engaged in negotiations to attempt to resolve the matter by a non-trial disposition” — suggesting that he was trying to work out a deal with the prosecution to have Jamieson plead guilty to an agreed upon sentence instead of going to trial.

The attorney for Brown, Diane Tosta of Montgomery County, also asked for a continuance. She cited more time needed to file pre-trial motions on behalf of her client.

In his order, Pratter agreed that it would be best for all parties to set a new date for trial. To deny the continuance requests, he wrote, “would likely make such proceedings impossible or would result in a miscarriage of justice.”

In his order, Pratter asked each of the defense attorneys and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella, who is prosecuting the case, for trial in September. The case is expected to last seven days.

In March, acting U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen, announced the unsealing of a 42 count indictment against Jamieson, 57, and Brown, 25, involving their alleged sexual abuse of the teenage girl, images of the girl having sex, and the discovery of a cache of child pornography in Jamieson’s home.

The pair were charged with