CAMDEN - A Cherry Hill couple authorities claim were running a sex dungeon out of their home pleaded guilty yesterday to promoting prostitution in exchange for other charges being dropped.
As part of a plea bargain late yesterday, Martin Hunsinger, 56, and Dorina Pizio Hunsinger, 52, will withdraw their pleas if they are sentenced to more than probation. They also intend to challenge the constitutionality of the law under which they pleaded guilty, said Dorina Hunsinger's lawyer, Ralph Kramer, of Haddon Heights.
"My client believes the law is unconstitutional. Consenting adults should be able to act in any manner they choose," Kramer said.
The Hunsingers were arrested during an investigation into the drowning death of Samantha Wann, 3, in a swimming pool on their property during a 1998 Memorial Day weekend party. The child's father, Michael Wann, 38, of Camden, left her unattended while he was getting high on drugs, investigators said.
An autopsy showed she had been the victim of sexual abuse, but no arrest was made. Wann was allowed to plead guilty in June 2000 to a charge of endangering the welfare of a child in exchange for his cooperation against the Hunsingers.
Prosecutors allege that the 3-year-old was pushed into the pool by a 7-year-old girl. She was identified as a granddaughter of Martin Hunsinger's who often visited the home.
During the investigation into the 3-year-old's death, authorities seized sex paraphernalia from one room in the house that included masks, whips, a cage, a coffin, and a "St. Andrew's cross," to which a person is tied, then rotated.
According to a statement read in court yesterday, Assistant Prosecutor Howard Gilfert said the Hunsingers - the couple married after their arrests - advertised their services to paying clients in magazines under the names of "Miss Christianna" and "Dungeon Master."
"The services performed by Dorina Pizio with the defendants' clients included acts of domination and submission, sadistic and masochistic abuse, waxing, cross-dressing and infantilism," said Gilfert, who described her as a "dominatrix."
He also said Martin Hunsinger "participated in the business by making apparatus Dorina Pizio used with their clients."
In addition to promoting prostitution, the Hunsingers had been charged with endangering the welfare of a child for having the 7-year-old in a home where she could be exposed to their materials and lifestyle, as well as witness tampering for allegedly telling the child to not cooperate with investigators.
The 7-year-old was put in the custody of the state Department of Youth and Family Services and put into counseling. Prosecutors had intended to call her to testify.
The Hunsingers are to be sentenced on March 7. The maximum sentence for promoting prostitution is five years.
Wann's sentencing is pending. As part of his plea agreement, the prosecution will recommend a five-year prison sentence. All three are free on bail.
