LAS VEGAS — A Saudi Arabian air force sergeant rejected a plea deal in a child rape case Thursday despite a video being played in court of him telling police he had sexual contact with a 13-year-old boy at a Las Vegas Strip hotel. Mazen Al-Otaibi, 24, appeared in Nevada state court and refused to plead guilty to reduced charges of attempted sexual assault and attempted lewdness. Instead he will go to trial in October and face multiple felony charges including kidnapping, lewdness with a child under the age of 14, sexually motivated coercion and sexual assault of a minor. Al-Otaibi has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He could spend the rest of his life in state prison if convicted. In the video, Al-Otaibi told police he encountered the boy in the hallway of Circus Circus early Dec. 31. He said the boy wanted marijuana and offered to exchange sex for money. “I didn't force him,” Al-Otaibi told police. “He wanted weed. He wanted money. You have to understand my situation. I drank too much.” The video was aired during a hearing on a bid by Al-Otaibi's lawyer, Don Chairez, to get Clark County District Court Judge Stefany Miley to throw out the confession as improperly obtained. Before the hearing, with an Arabic interpreter providing translation, Miley asked if Al-Otaibi was sure he wanted to reject an offer from prosecutors that would spare him trial if he pleaded guilty. Under the deal, Al-Otaibi would have faced a penalty ranging from probation to up to 80 years in prison. – AP
