Washington- The second suspect in last week’s alleged sexual assault drove from Los Angeles to Whitman County overnight and appeared in court Wednesday afternoon to plead not guilty.
Christopher Jack Reid, 25, [aka Jack Venice] voluntarily turned himself in to the Pullman Police in response to an arrest warrant for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. The first suspect, 23-year-old WSU student Kyle M. Schott, appeared in court Tuesday and posted $100,000 bail.
Bail for Reid is set at $200,000. He faces a charge of second-degree rape, a Class A felony that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $50,000 fine. He also faces a charge of first-degree burglary, two charges of residential burglary and a charge of attempted residential burglary. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The minimum sentence for second-degree rape is about six and a half years if there is no prior conviction.
Reid is also known as adult film actor “Jack Venice” and has appeared in almost 90 pornographic films. He appeared in court Wednesday casually dressed and rarely spoke.
“The fact that one of the assailants is apparently a porn actor lends some extra factor of interest to it … but anytime a person is assaulted on College Hill, anytime someone is raped is a serious matter for us and I think it deserves a certain amount of attention,” Whitman County Prosector Denis Tracy said before the trial.
Tracy said in court that Reid has previously faced four misdemeanors in Arizona, been a fugitive from Texas for credit/debit card abuse and has failed to appear for traffic offenses.
Because of this history, Tracy told Superior Court Judge David Frazier that he should not lower bail because there is a danger Reid will fail to appear and could commit more crimes if out of custody. Reid’s attorney, Chris Bugbee of Spokane, told the judge that because Reid voluntarily drove up from Los Angeles and turned himself in, he has shown he is no danger to flee.
Reid is in the Whitman County Jail in Colfax and Bugbee said his client is trying to pay for the bond and be able to return to work. To do so, he must sign a waiver of extradition and then apply to leave the state so he can go back to Los Angeles.
“He is employed, he’s actively employed,” Bugbee said. “He’s one of the busiest employees in that industry that you can find.” Pullman Police took Reid into custody earlier Wednesday afternoon at a downtown motel parking lot. He did not make any statements to investigators.
Reid cannot come near the sororities and fraternity he allegedly entered last Thursday – Pi Beta Phi, Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Gamma Rho. Also, he agreed to a DNA test.
Tracy said he formally charged Schott on Tuesday afternoon with the same charges and that he will appear in court Friday morning for his arraignment.
Frazier scheduled Reid’s court date for Nov. 26 after Reid declined a speedy trial.