A Hempfield woman accused of distributing a video depicting a woman having sexual contact with a young child wants to be released from prison while she awaits trial.
Amanda Smith, 29, has been in jail since her arrest last August when she was charged with distributing photographs of sex acts and possession of child pornography.
Police said Smith shared a video of a woman having sex with a 5-year-old boy. Police contend Charles Jason Hunter, 32, and his former girlfriend, Corby Jo Kinzey, 24, both of Greensburg, recorded the alleged sex act.
Smith’s trial is tentatively scheduled to begin in April. According to court documents filed Tuesday, her defense lawyer, Patricia Elliott-Rentler, said Smith should be released from jail because she has been held in custody for more than 180 days. Pennsylvania’s speedy trial rules require incarcerated defendants be tried within six months or be released on nominal bail until their case comes to court, Elliott-Rentler said in court documents.
Smith has been unable to post the $100,000 bond set after her arrest. In September, Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani refused to reduce the bond.
Feliciani scheduled a hearing March 8 to determine if Smith can be released to live in a private home in Hempfield as she awaits her trial.
Meanwhile, the criminal cases against the man and woman accused to creating the sex video are still pending.
Hunter, 32, of Greensburg is being held in jail without bond as he awaits trial on charges of rape and other related offenses. His trial has not been scheduled.
Kinzey, 24, of Greensburg, is also being held in jail without bond. She was charged with more than 30 counts, including rape and other offenses. Police contend she is the woman who had sex with the child. Feliciani earlier this month ruled that Kinzey was not competent to stand trial.
