Jury Selection Begins in Chmura Trial

Wednesday, January 24th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

JANESVILLE, Wis. (AP) â€” Jury selection began Tuesday in the trial of former NFL star Mark Chmura, charged with sexually assaulting his children's 17-year-old former baby sitter during a drunken prom party.

The 31-year-old player could get up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

The party was held at the home of Robert Gessert, a friend of Chmura's, after a high school prom last April.

Gessert, 43, was charged with fondling a woman at the party. He and Chmura have denied any wrongdoing.

Chmura joined the Green Bay Packers in 1992. An avid supporter of family charities and conservative politics, he refused to meet with President Clinton after his team's 1997 Super Bowl victory and made disparaging comments about the president's morals.

At a hearing Monday, a key witness in the case, 17-year-old Michael Kleber, said he changed his initial statement because he thought it would make the district attorney happy and because he was afraid of being cited for underage drinking.

Chmura's lawyer, Gerald Boyle, argued that Kleber's revised statement was coerced and should not be allowed at the trial. Circuit Judge Mark Gempeler did not immediately rule on the request.

Kleber, a high school football player who was drinking at the party, initially told police April 11 that he saw the 17-year-old girl enter a bathroom after Chmura with a ``smile.'' He also said that after she left the bathroom, the girl ran down the basement stairs and fell to the ground.

In his revised statement a month later, Kleber said he didn't see the girl go into the bathroom and didn't recall any observations after that.

When Boyle questioned the teen-ager Monday, Kleber said he gave the revised statement out of fear.

Kleber said he was hoping to get a scholarship to play college football and feared a ticket for underage drinking would jeopardize that. Kleber also said District Attorney Paul Bucher had threatened to arrest anyone who lied. Prosecutors denied that.

Kleber said he intends to stick with his original statement when he testifies during the trial.