Videotape

THE ADVANCE reports that making public Bill Clinton's grand jury testimony would be damaging to him and the American nation were not accurate.His testimony was unseemly, yes. But the presidency and the republic will survive. The exercise, indeed, may have the effect of strengthening democracy, as an example of how the system should work.So, on with the work of the House Judiciary Committee, whose members have to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant impeachment proceedings.

An 18-year-old Randallstown man went on trial yesterday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, charged with forcing a 12-year-old girl to have sex with two of his friends while he videotaped them.The girl, who is now 13, said she was attacked by a neighborhood teen-ager who had come to her home with video games to play with her younger brother.Clifton Carter Jr., who was 17 at the time of the Nov. 9, 1990, incident, is charged with first- and second-degree rape, assault and battery. Prosecutor Angela White contends he is guilty of the attacks although he didn't have sex with the girl because he "participated to the extent that he made [his friends']

The Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association's new rule regarding the use of video cameras at high school sporting events should be rated "R," for ridiculous.The MPSSAA, acting on concernsvoiced by members of the state football committee last spring, is convinced some teams have gained an unfair scouting advantage through the proliferating -- and, they say, sometimes secretive -- use of videotape.To curtail such abuses, the state has passed a resolution that prohibits teams in all sports from taping an opponent without that team's permission.

Baltimore homicide detectives completed their investigation yesterday into a fatal shooting by a police officer that was videotaped outside Lexington Market, and have turned the case over to prosecutors.The city state's attorney's office will decide whether to seek an indictment against Officer Charles M. Smothers, who fired the fatal shot when 22-year-old James Quarles failed to heed orders to drop a knife.Amid continuing criticism of the shooting, the Police Department is widening its investigation into how and why Smothers -- on probation for firing a shot at a former girlfriend and others two years ago -- was given back his badge and gun despite a still-pending administrative review.

A second Baltimore police officer has been suspended after being identified on a videotape showing him hitting a spectator at the Preakness on Saturday, police officials said. The officer, Anthony N. Fata, 28, a four-year veteran, was suspended yesterday with pay pending an internal hearing today into police handling of the man who was struck while in custody. The videotape was obtained by WBAL-TV and aired in its newscasts Tuesday, Wednesday and yesterday. On the video, police can be seen dragging a man from the event.

Two men admitted in Anne Arundel Circuit Court yesterday to their roles in the death of a teen-ager, who was videotaped as he was hogtied, beaten and sexually assaulted after he passed out during a night of drinking.Brian Michael Wagaman, 19, of Chesapeake Beach pleaded guilty to manslaughter and a second-degree sex offense. Ryan Gabriel Massey, 21, of Upper Marlboro pleaded guilty to manslaughter, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment, and assault and battery.Assistant State's Attorney M. Virginia Miles agreed to drop first-degree murder charges against Wagaman and Massey in exchange for the guilty pleas.

Two Baltimore County police officers under investigation in the alleged beating of a suspect may not see a homemade videotape of the incident before they are questioned about it, a county Circuit Court judge has ruled.Judge J. William Hinkel said yesterday the state Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights does not allow police officers to see a videotape of an incident before answering questions about it.The officers, David Folderauer, 25, and Randy Guraleczka, 30, filed suit to gain access to the videotape, made by a bystander who saw the incident, after they were notified in April that they were under investigation, according to their attorney, Mary M. Kramer.

NEW YORK - The last man convicted of attacking women in Central Park last summer after the National Puerto Rican Day Parade was sentenced to five years Friday, the longest prison term resulting from the melee. Abel Ortiz, 24, of the Bronx was captured on videotape amid a crowd of rowdy, shirtless men who groped, stripped and sexually abused seven women. Overall, 50 women were attacked by the mob and 20 testified at the trial of Ortiz and two other defendants; one was acquitted and the other was sentenced to a minimum of 2 1/2 years in prison, bringing the total number of men convicted to 18. In a statement before sentencing, Ortiz insisted again Friday that he had not joined the mob and that he had been trying to help the women shown in the videotape by creating a distraction so that they could escape.

Here, says Baltimore police Officer Charles M. Smothers II, is what the videotape of the death of James Quarles does not show you: That after about 10 minutes of refusing to drop an 8-inch knife outside Lexington Market last Saturday, Quarles suddenly gripped the weapon so tightly that the veins in his arms stood out. He gritted his teeth. He moved his left foot forward, and Smothers, fearing for his safety, fired one deadly shot to Quarles' right shoulder.That a crowd of onlookers and a line of parked squad cars made it impossible for the officers to back away.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The defense in the Michael Jackson molestation case suddenly rested yesterday, moments after the prosecution presented a videotape of the pop star's accuser describing the alleged assaults in detail. After several days of threatening to reopen the case, the defense surprisingly refused to present any last-minute witnesses or evidence. Lawyers will meet Tuesday to discuss jury instructions and other matters before closing arguments. The eight-woman, four-man jury will likely get the 10-count felony case next week.