|
 Sheen's admittedly raucous lifestyle, substance abuse, stints
in rehab and fondness for dating porn stars have overshadowed
for years the career of the former TV star of "Two and a Half
Men."
The latest commotion has crossed from celebrity gossip to a
battle over press freedom and a possible criminal case.
Los Angeles police have opened a criminal investigation of
Sheen, and on Tuesday served a search warrant on the New York
headquarters of American Media Inc, the parent company of both
RadarOnline and the Enquirer.
The police probe follows published reports by RadarOnline and
the Enquirer about audio in which a man, said to be Sheen, is
heard saying he would like to see a former fiancee "have her
head kicked in." Neither publication has published the audio.
Sheen's attorney and agent did not respond to requests for
comment.
Dylan Howard, editor-in-chief of the Enquirer and editorial
director of RadarOnline, told Reuters the two outlets had no
plans to turn over documents or identify their sources.
He said the search warrant, signed by a Los Angeles County
Superior Court judge, was illegal under both state and federal
law that prevents the use of such warrants against media
organizations relating to "newsworthy" information.
"We do believe that a judge did issue this order against the
law, and that's why we will not be complying with its order,"
Howard said in an interview. The LAPD should emulate the two
publications and "uncover the evidence" themselves, he added.
There were conflicting views on the legality of warrant.
Terry Francke, general counsel for Californians Aware, a
non-profit journalists' rights advocacy group, said the Los
Angeles Police Department warrant was "flatly illegal" under
California law.
Jonathan Kotler, journalism professor at the University of
Southern California, said there has been little clarity on the
issue. The courts "have been all over the place through the
years" on so-called shield laws protecting journalists, he said.
[to top of second column] |
"Courts don’t like shield laws much," Kotler added.
The two publications first reported on the audio in late March,
saying it was recorded by an unnamed former lover of Sheen. They
have reported quotes but have not made the audio available online.
Reuters could not verify the voice is Sheen's.
According to a copy of the search warrant and an affidavit provided
on Thursday by RadarOnline, the Los Angeles police investigation was
triggered by Scottine Ross, a former porn actress and onetime
fiancee of Sheen, who accused Sheen in a December lawsuit of assault
and of having sex with her without revealing he was HIV positive.
The affidavit says Ross went to police fearing for her life on March
31 after reading the RadarOnline and Enquirer accounts of
threatening statements Sheen allegedly made about her in calls to
another unidentified woman.
Sheen announced in a November interview that he had been diagnosed
with HIV about four years earlier, but said it was "impossible" that
he had transmitted the virus to anyone else.
(This story has been corrected in 15th paragraph to delete erroneous
reference to origin of audio tape)
(Additional reporting by Sharon Bernstein and Roselle Chen; Editing
by Bernadette Baum, Andrew Hay and Leslie Adler)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
