Former male performer Jack Venice was serving a life sentence for second-degree rape. He was also charged with two counts of residential burglary and one count of burglary in the first degree.
For those who don’t remember the story, because let’s be honest, porn does have a short memory — We first learned of Jack Venice in late 2006 or early 2007 when former Vivid girl Devon wrote a story on her Myspace page about being raped by Jack Venice on the set of the movie Devon Does Baja. She called it the “worst experience imaginable”.
Now, Devon was a notorious grifter, who even ended up on the doorstep of anti-porn scam artist Shelley Lubben, and perhaps this is why, at the time, nobody gave her story a second thought. She was completely ignored despite the fact that she said she had several witnesses. However it should be noted, as far as I know, to date, none of these witnesses have ever come forward.
I did try to speak to Megan from Shane’s World and a few others without any luck. In fact, Megan who at the time was running things over at Shane’s World said she absolutely had no idea about any of this and never once did Devon file a complaint with her or anyone at Shane’s World about this or even come in and talk about it. But we’ll talk more about that case later. For now, let’s go back to the Jack Venice story.
Jack Venice worked in the industry for a few years basically as an unknown swordsman until about two years later when he began dating Vivid girl Hanna Hilton. Things between them were hot and heavy. They even started living together in Houston, Texas (near his family) and Jack was helping to raise Hanna’s young son which she had from a previous relationship.
At the time Hanna Hilton had become the sort of IT girl in the industry. She was a Penthouse Pet and had just signed a lucrative contract with Vivid. She had all natural, big boobs and everyone loved her.
Jack Venice was in Washington in a small college town in September 2007. He was drunk at a bar with two men who were also drunk. He met them at the bar. He did not know them previously.
Jack Venice would often go to these college parties to try and recruit girls for porn of which he was paid a finders fee. It’s not uncommon for males in the industry to do this, even to this day. This is what we call a recruiter for those who don’t know.
According to one news source, one of the men at the bar with him (Kyle Schott), that night apparently had a better idea than just sitting at a bar getting drunk. Since everyone at these frat parties was super drunk, Kyle Schott thought it was the perfect time to go upstairs to their bedrooms and rob them.
Jack Venice would later say that was not the case. There was never a time when they ever had this conversation. There was no-premeditation. That conversation simply never took place.
The three men went to a sorority party at Washington State University in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority house and came across a girl passed out drunk upstairs.
Instead of just stealing from her, one of the three men decided to have a little “fun” with the girl. That man would be Kyle Schott.
Jack Venice was not near the victim and the third man (Colin Davis) seems to have been outside the whole time, one would assume, acting as a lookout.
Kyle Schott was on the bed sitting next to the victim and was opening a condom when the victim woke up.
Jack Venice at the time was standing across the room near her computer. He was nowhere near the victim. This was something that Kyle Schott would later confirm in one of the many reports by the police filed in this case.
Hearing the noise from the opening condom, the girl woke up and she freaked out and so Jack Venice and the other guy took off, heading down the fire escape.
According to one news source, prior to this incident, there were reported break-ins at Pi Beta Phi and Delta Gamma. It seems Kyle Schott was somehow involved in these incidences, at least according to another news source.
Kyle Schott was the first one to roll over on the other so he got the deal and Jack Venice went down for rape, even though he didn’t even touch the girl. During the trial, the prosecution made the claim that Jack Venice was an accomplice to the assault by not preventing Kyle Schott from assaulting the women and by possibly even encouraging him to do it.
Even if you agree with the fact that he was an accomplice to the fact, for not stopping the guy from doing what he did, it still doesn’t make him a rapist. Being an accomplice to a crime is very different to actually committing the crime itself.
Since Kyle was the first one to sing, he got the sweetheart deal, despite the fact that’s he’s actually the only one who touched the victim. In exchange for his testimony against Jack Venice, he got nothing but a slap on the wrist. As far as I know, he was not charged with any of the break-ins and got a reduced sentence for rape in the third degree, which is only a class c felony.
When it was all said and done, Jack Venice would get a life sentence for second-degree rape. He was also charged with two counts of residential burglary and one count of burglary in the first degree. He wouldn’t be eligible for parole for 9 years.
- Rape second degree (Class A felony): Prosecutors typically file rape second-degree charges when a person engages in intercourse with another person by forcible compulsion when the complaining witness is incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless or mentally incapacitated — in the case of Jack Venice there was no intercourse because he never touched her.
Jack Venice finally got paroled earlier this year – I think in early February he got out. His original conviction took place on October 24, 2008. That’s a long time to spend in prison.
His mother promised me an interview when he got out earlier this year but that never came to be despite my repeated attempts.
I want you to read something one local news reporter said. “Jack Venice was convicted of drunkenly breaking into a WSU sorority with Kyle M. Schott, where both raped a woman while she slept.”
The woman was never raped, not in the way that most people would define “rape”. Kyle Schott stuck a finger in her vagina (he admitted this). And if that is the case, then I would call that assault, but rape? I don’t know.
Jack Venice however never touched her. He at no time was even near her. He was there, yes -but he did not touch her. How can you rape someone you never touched?
He even submitted to a DNA test to prove his innocence. He was so confident that the DNA test would prove his innocence because he knew he never touched her, he didn’t agree to take a deal offered to him before the trial where he would only have to serve 9 months. In his mind, he knew he didn’t rape her, he never even touched her so how could he possibly be convicted of raping her? He also didn’t know that he was facing life in prison.
Again he had a really shitty lawyer, Chris A. Bugbee, out of Spokane Washington. He’s a horrible lawyer. I can’t believe this guy still is allowed to even practice law.
While Jack Venice was in prison he earned a paralegal certificate and even sued the city of Pullman, Washington at least once possibly two or three times. He fought to prove one thing, he did not rape the girl. He never even touched her.
That wasn’t really ever in question. He just had a really shitty lawyer, Chris A. Bugbee.
According to Moscow-Pullman Daily News, the city of Pullman spent $350,000 defending against a lawsuit with Jack Venice. They paid his lawyer $51,000 as a settlement.
Still, can you imagine serving all those years in prison for a crime you never committed?
And even worse, the only way you can have a chance to get out of prison was to admit your guilt and say you are sorry for the crime you never committed, so you could qualify for parole – the only way he was ever going to see the light of day.
He also was so caught up in fighting the system on paperwork violations, he never really clearly got his point across – he never touched the victim. All the interviews with him were just non-sensical rants about how the government messed up this or that in his case.
If he had someone competent fighting on his side they might have been able to get that message across. But alas that was never the case. So after serving 9 years in prison, he finally did the only thing he could – he admitted his guilt, said he was sorry and got paroled.
Sure Jack Venice was wrong for being there in the first place. He was drunk and up to no good. He served his time for the burglary charges. In Washington, those carry like a 2-month sentence.
I think they nailed the guy because he was in porn.
What do you think?
Do you think it’s fair he served 9 years and had to admit to something he didn’t do in order to get out of prison?
6 Responses
Hannah dropped off the face of the earth quickly (at the top of her popularity no less). Some say she turned to being a high priced porn star escort.
From what I understand she stopped that too and did some mainstream modeling back in her hometown but even that she hasn’t done in a while now. She really has dropped off the face of the earth.
Even the robbery angle was probably more impish than its being made to sound up there at Wazzu. I’m sure it felt more prankish mischief than “robbery”. Eastern Washington is where fun goes to die, and there’s a lot of that big-cop-in-a-little-pond stuff. I hadn’t heard about Devon, but a good prosecutor shouldn’t have pressed this case, but they’re hungry for convictions up there. ONly chance to make a name for themselves. Creeps.
From what I remember the victim identified Jack Venice as the sexual assaulter by his machine gun tattoo on his thigh. The robbery story is just a smokescreen to explain away the more serious rape charge.
Jack Venice innocent? I think not.
That can’t be possible schlermy because in her initial two interviews she couldn’t identify either of the guys, so how would she suddenly remember he had a tattoo?
She couldn’t remember anything about Jack Venice or the other guy until time for the trial.