Somerhalder attorney asks change of venue Tavern owner facing multiple sex assault charges pleads not guilty, protests publicity By Jessica La Plante News-Chronicle Although Green Bay tavern owner Marcus Somerhalder pleaded not guilty Monday to 18 felony counts, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Mark Warpinski said he needed one more question answered before he could set a trial date for the 28-year-old man accused of committing multiple sexual assaults: If Somerhalder can receive a fair trial within the county's confines, or whether extensive media coverage mandates holding the trial elsewhere. Warpinski set a hearing for Jan. 22, when he will rule on a motion for a change of venue filed Monday by Somerhalder's defense counsel. In the motion, defense attorney Jackson Main argues local media published inflammatory news coverage about Somerhalder's case, making it next to impossible for Somerhalder to obtain a fair trial in his hometown. The document proposes Somerhalder's trial should be held in another jurisdiction. "Obviously, there isn't a person in Brown County who hasn't heard about this case and you want a jury of people who haven't heard about it and haven't reached an opinion one way or the other," Main said. "I think given the amount of pretrial publicity, it's going to be difficult for a judge to not rule for a change of venue." An amended criminal complaint filed Dec. 23 accuses Somerhalder of sexually exploiting a dozen women - friends, ex-girlfriends, and employees - by drugging the women and then videotaping himself having sex with them while they were unconscious. Ashwaubenon investigator Scott Schermitzler said police have now spoken to as many as 40 potential victims who might have been assaulted by Somerhalder. Whether more charges will be filed depends on how many of those statements can be corroborated. "That's what we're going to work on over the next couple of weeks," Schermitzler said. "There's a lot of cases out there where the women will tell us their story but we can't find a (second) witness to substantiate it. It's not that we don't believe them." Schermitzler said police are waiting for the state's crime lab to finish processing more than three dozen videotapes that were seized from Somerhalder's Ashwaubenon apartment early last month. According to police, the video tapes depict Somerhalder having sex with various women, some of whom appear to be unconscious. Aside from arguing for a change of venue, Main said he will use the Jan. 22 hearing to convince the court those tapes should be suppressed. "We'll be filing a motion to suppress based on (an alleged) invalid execution of the search warrant, and that will be addressed at the motion hearing as well," Main said. Of the several issues that surfaced at Monday's hearing, only the question of bail was settled on the spot. Main asked the judge to reduce Somerhalder's bail, pointing to his client's lack of a prior criminal record and other extenuating circumstances. "His mom had a recent hospitalization and surgery, so he's got other items going on as well as these charges," Main said during an interview after Monday's hearing. He said Somerhalder is "overwhelmed" by the criminal allegations and the prospect of losing his two downtown taverns, which have now been seized by the bank. "He's had his whole world taken from him," Main said. Although a judge's decision to keep Somerhalder's bail at $50,000 cash might have came as a blow to his defense counsel, the decision brought relief to prosecutors. "I think that was the most important issue that we fought (today)," said Brown County assistant district attorney Thomas Coaty. The judge "saw it the same way the DA's office did - that this person is a flight risk. He's looking at 500 years of prison, and we believe that not only could he not show up, but that he's a danger to the community." Although Coaty would not say whether Brown County prosecutors expect to file more charges against Somerhalder, he said the DA's office is aggressively pursuing all potential victims' claims.