HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) -- Miss America will switch from her throne to a witness stand after all.
1010 WINS AUDIO: Mona Rivera Reports
Beauty queen Lauren Nelson has told prosecutors that she has no problem testifying against men she helped arrest in a Long Island sex sting, officials speaking on her behalf said Tuesday. A day earlier, prosecutors said Nelson was not available to testify.
Tuesday's announcement from the Miss America Organization and ``America's Most Wanted'' came after Nelson recently went undercover with police in Suffolk County and participated in a sting operation against would-be sexual predators. The county's computer crimes unit created an online profile of a 14-year-old girl that included photographs of Nelson as a teenager, and she chatted with predators online.
She then lured men into meeting her at a Bay Shore home, where police and crews from ``America's Most Wanted'' awaited. Eleven men were arrested, and the show aired Saturday.
But the Suffolk County district attorney told Newsday on Monday that Nelson's representatives indicated she wouldn't testify against the alleged sexual predators. The district attorney called her participation in the operation ``nothing more than a publicity stunt.''
The Miss America Organization and ``America's Most Wanted'' responded Tuesday by saying Nelson has been fully cooperating with prosecutors. ``America's Most Wanted'' denied that Nelson or anyone connected to her had ever said she wouldn't take the stand.
Nelson herself was traveling and unavailable for comment, Miss America spokeswoman Sharon Pearce said.
District Attorney Thomas Spota released his own statement Tuesday, calling on the 20-year-old to "meet her civic responsibility and testify as a witness to a crime.'' He later said the Miss America organization contacted his office and assured him that Nelson had no problems testifying.
Spota said that Nelson's continued participation was "absolutely essential'' to the cases. His office confirmed that Spota had told prosecutors not to present any more cases to the grand jury until they could determine Nelson's role, especially considering she spoke with at least one of the men arrested.
Spota also used his statement Tuesday to urge caution in using celebrities to fight crime.
1010 WINS Boroughs & 'Burbs Page: Long Island
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