[Pantyholic]

The former girlfriend of James Biela, accused of the rape and strangulation of a college student and sexual assault of two others, said during a Thursday hearing in Washoe District Court that Biela often visited pornographic Web sites and had a fetish for women's thong underwear.

Carleen Harmon, the mother of Biela's son, testified at a hearing to determine whether evidence about the thongs and porn could be presented to the jury when Biela's trial in the murder of Brianna Denison begins May 10 before Judge Robert Perry.

Biela's lawyers want to keep that information from the jury, arguing that those activities are not illegal but would taint jurors' perception of him. Perry is expected to rule on the issue by late Monday.

Harmon said she found two pairs of thong underwear in Biela's truck when she visited him in Washington state in September 2008. She said she suspected he was cheating on her and searched his truck.

"They were small. They were cotton. They were thongs," Harmon testified. "They were pastel in color. They had a little flower design."

When Harmon confronted Biela with the underwear, he threw them out a window and said he had picked them up at a laundromat.

Reno police detective Troy Callahan testified that he found two pairs of women's thong underwear tucked into a storage container in Biela's trailer, along with a Playboy magazine. Harmon and the woman who sold Beila the trailer said the items were not theirs.

Harmon said she often searched computers in their home after Biela had used them and found that he spent time on porn sites. She said she often changed the passwords on the computers to keep him from visiting those sites.

Reno police detective Roya Mason testified that she conducted a forensic search of the computers Biela had used and found 1,164 hits on the word "thong." She said the word linked to a list of porn sites with names like "teens and thongs" and "dirty thongs."

Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler told Perry that the evidence should be allowed at trial because it was similar to evidence connected with the murder and sexual assault cases.

Two pairs of thong underwear were found on Denison's body, Sattler said. And the two other women Biela is accused of sexually assaulting were forced to give their attacker their underwear.

"Given the type of case we're talking about, these images are extremely important," Sattler said.

Biela's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender James Leslie, said the material "carries high shock value" and would only "inflame the jury."

"We're trying to avoid having Mr. Biela unfairly characterized at trial," he said, adding that the sites were legal and described by one detective as "nothing out of the ordinary."

Biela is charged with kidnapping and killing Denison, 19, who disappeared from a home near the University of Nevada, Reno on Jan. 20, 2008. Her strangled body was found Feb. 15, 2008, in a field in southeast Reno.

Biela also is charged with sexually assaulting two other college students at sites near campus. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Source RGJ

[Linda62]

Now this what really givees us panty lovers a bad, bad name.

[Pantied Suzi]

Oh Boy. Here comes the outcry of people who don't understand us.