Peterson Mistress 'Devastated' by Nude Pix

ByABC News via logo
June 6, 2003, 9:15 AM

June 6 -- Amber Frey is "devastated" by the news that nude pictures of her are being shopped around, her attorney said today, adding this may be an attempt to discredit Scott Peterson's ex-mistress before she takes the stand against him.

"She's offended and upset and devastated by it," attorney Gloria Allred said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "This is really not fair. She's a person that's come forward to do the right thing."

Frey was having an affair with Peterson when his pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared, but she says she didn't know Peterson was married and she later cooperated with police. Peterson, 30, of Modesto, Calif., is now behind bars awaiting trial on two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife and their unborn child.

Allred suggested the surfacing of the photos may have something to do with defense tactics in the sensational case.

"Certainly it would be no surprise if defense tactics, or tactics of those who support the defense, would include trying to undermine the credibility of a witness, trying to damage her so that her testimony does not damage the defense case," Allred said on Good Morning America.

"That would be a garden-variety defense tactic by many defense attorneys in many criminal cases," she added.

There was no immediate comment from Mark Geragos, Peterson's defense attorney.

Attempts to Discredit Frey Could Backfire

Hustler publisher Larry Flynt confirmed to ABCNEWS that the magazine has been contacted by a man trying to sell nude photos of Frey.

Allred insisted her client had nothing to do with it.

"We don't know who is behind this, but I can tell you very clearly that Amber Frey has not authorized anyone to either sell or give away any posed photographs of herself," she said.

But former San Francisco prosecutor Kimberly Guilfoyle-Newsom said the defense could lose support if it is perceived as trying too hard to discredit Frey.

"I think the defense is going to have to be very careful when they tread down that path," said Guilfoyle-Newsom, an ABCNEWS consultant. "They can alienate jurors, and women jurors in particular, if they appear to be attacking her instead of focusing on the facts of the case."