Miss America's Rep Says She Will Testify in Sex Sting

May 1, 2007 — -- She lured men in like bait, but is Miss America willing to go the distance and testify in court against the sexual predators she snared?

It depends on whom you ask.

In an article in Monday's Newsday, reporter Alfonso A. Castillo quoted Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota as saying, "Representatives for Miss America 2007, Lauren Nelson, have told prosecutors she won't return to Long Island to testify."

The Associated Press also jumped on the story, reporting Nelson's supposed refusal to testify with this headline: "Prosecutor: Miss America Won't Testify."

Seeing It Through

But Miss America's director of communications, Sharon Pearce, said in a statement that pageant representatives are baffled and upset that the Newsday reporter never called to confirm this. That and contrary to the DA's remarks, Pearce said that 20-year-old Nelson would work it into her busy schedule to testify in court.

Pearce told ABC News, "She's been fully cooperative with the investigation leading up to her appearance on 'America's Most Wanted,' and she will continue to be."

Pearce also told ABC News her organization has unsuccessfully tried to reach Spota to inform him that Nelson is willing to cooperate fully, and if that means testifying, she will.

Undercover Beauty Agent

Unlike some of her beauty queen compatriots -- Miss Teen USA and the former Miss USA -- who were wrapped up in a scandal after pictures surfaced of their underage drinking, Miss America made headlines for enforcing the law, not breaking it.

As Miss America, Nelson's main responsibility is to the Children's Miracle Network. In addition to duties at the association of children's hospitals, Nelson's personal platform is Internet safety and protecting kids online.

In an effort to target online sexual predators, Nelson teamed up with New York's Suffolk County Police Department for a segment of "America's Most Wanted."

The Suffolk County computer crimes unit created a profile for Nelson and used pictures of her as a teenager to fit a 14-year-old's fake profile.

Nelson reportedly went into chat rooms, where men began sending her instant messages, asking her how old she was and where she lived. Nelson also arranged to meet the men at a home in Long Island, where police and camera crews were waiting.

According to Avery Mann, a spokesman for "America's Most Wanted," at least four men were arrested and face charges, and another six men agreed to meet Nelson.

DA Stands by His Comments

Spota is not taking back his comments about Nelson's refusal to testify. A source from Spota's communications department told ABC News, "He stands by those quotes and his statements to Newsday."

Spota was unavailable for comment, and Castillo didn't return calls or e-mails from ABCNEWS.com

Mann released the following statement regarding the misinformation about Nelson's testifying: "We don't know why the DA would make the comments attributed to him without knowing all of the facts."

Though the question remains whether or not Nelson will end up testifying at all, it is certain that Nelson has put her fame and celebrity to good use. If she can help prevent even a small number of sexual predators from lurking online, more of our nation's police departments should hire Miss "brave" America.