Porn Star Mercedes Carrera and Producer Boyfriend Accused of Sexually Abusing a Child

Adult-film star Mercedes Carrera and her producer boyfriend Daemon Cins pleaded not guilty Wednesday to eight counts of sexually abusing a child under age 10 in a case the lead detective called “sickening,” the New York Daily News reports. The defendants—whose legal names are Melinda Smith, 35, and Jason Whitney, 43—allegedly abused an unidentified female minor “several times” over four months. “The minor reported it to her family, and the family reported it to us,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Det. Donald Patton said. “It’s very sickening that someone would do something like that to a child under the age of 10 years old.” Officers said they found drugs, guns, and a makeshift studio in their bedroom so they could film and record “various pornographic videos or web shows.” Patton didn’t say how Smith and Whitney allegedly first targeted the girl, but said police “suspect there may be other victims.”