Kent Ninomiya, a former KSTP-TV anchor, got himself mixed up in a scandalously sordid Illinois court case.

In a criminal trial last week, a defense attorney successfully argued that Ninomiya and Emily Carlson, both now former employees of WICD-TV in central Illinois, planned a sexual encounter in which station operations employee Erin Davis was plied with vodka to get her to comply.

Ninomiya and Carlson are not charged in the case.

According to the Champaign News-Gazette, Davis, 19, was acquitted of charges that she drove while intoxicated in September 2006 because she claimed to be fleeing an apartment where she feared being sexually assaulted by Ninomiya and Carlson. Their ties to WICD were cut weeks before the trial.

Ninomiya was anchor/managing editor at WICD. Carlson, a reporter, grew up in Edina, according to a bio posted on WICD's website. She graduated from St. Thomas, interned at KSTP and worked in Mankato. The website also stated that Carlson was "an accomplished figure skater, earning two gold medals," and quoted Emily as describing herself "a true Midwesterner at heart."

According to News-Gazette story written by reporter Mary Schenk, who did not return a call, Ninomiya testified that he thought he was coming by Carlson's apartment so that he could take the two women out to eat. Davis testified that Carlson wanted both of them to have sex with Ninomiya. Davis testified that she was served lots of Vodka by Carlson, who did not testify.

Davis testified that Carlson said Ninomiya would only have sex with Emily if he could also have sex with Erin. Davis, who declined because she thought Ninomiya was too old, turned her back to Kent during most of his testimony, which included him denying her claims that he fondled her.

Davis had been a newsroom operations employee at the station about three weeks, the News-Gazette reported, when these events began on Sept. 16, 2006, after her workday ended at 11 p.m. After fleeing Carlson's apartment, Davis drove, struck two parked cars, and kept on driving her heavily damaged vehicle until stopped by police in the Campustown area of the University of Illinois.

Her blood-alcohol content was 0.20. Davis' defense in her two-day court trial was that she committed the crime of driving while intoxicated to avoid greater injury, that of sexual assault. The "necessity" defense is rare in criminal cases and hardly ever seen in DUI cases, stated the newspaper.

While Champaign County Judge Richard Klaus was skeptical of the defense, he allowed the jury to consider it, the News-Gazette reported.

Davis' lawyer Carol Dison, of Urbana, is quoted by the newspaper as saying, "It's a legitimate defense, and it made sense in this case."

Neither Dison nor Davis could be reached for comment Monday.

I have heard that some believe this is not the end of the matter and that Davis may sue Ninomiya and Carlson.

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.