February 19, 2014
Ex-US congressman on porn charges reappears in Zimbabwe court
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Former US Congressman Mel Reynolds had to be assisted as he alighted Thursday from a prison van after arriving at the Magistrate’s Court in Zimbabwe for a second day on charges of possessing pornography and violating immigration laws.
Wearing baggy, worn-out khaki prison garb and slippers, he asked to be helped down the stairs to the holding cells at the court, but help was denied.
On Wednesday, the ex-politician, who lost his seat in Congress almost 20 years ago after being convicted of statutory rape, pleaded innocent to charges of possessing pornography. He is appearing in court Thursday for a bail hearing and is also expected to enter a plea on separate charges of flouting Zimbabwe’s tough immigration laws.
