Suspect downcast in court

Chester Arthur Stiles shuffled into a Clark County courtroom Wednesday looking like a broken man.

The shackled 37-year-old stood before Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis with his shoulders slumped forward and his head bowed. He never looked up, and his long, unkempt hair covered much of his face. Shackles bound his wrists to his waist, and he was wearing the standard-issue navy blue jail jumpsuit.

"No, ma'am," Stiles replied in a low voice after Lippis asked him whether he could afford an attorney.

During the hearing, Stiles waived the reading of the 23 counts he faces, and Lippis set his next court date for Nov. 19. He didn't enter a plea, and the issue of bail wasn't addressed.

About five bailiffs were in the courtroom with Stiles as he stood before Lippis during the hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes.

Court administrators decided to beef up security in the courtroom after they learned there were threats made against Stiles, said Chuck Short, executive officer for the courts.

"We took the action we needed to protect him and others," Short said.

Besides additional security inside the courtroom, law enforcement officers used hand-held metal detectors to check people entering the courtroom through the public entrance.

After the hearing, Stiles' court-appointed lawyer, Jeff Banks, told reporters that the former animal trainer for Siegfried & Roy was "a little down in the mouth."

"Certainly he's unhappy about the situation he's in," said the public defender, speaking in front of the Regional Justice Center while surrounded by local and national media.

Banks added that he only spoke to Stiles about procedural issues. They didn't talk about the crimes Stiles is being accused of, or where Stiles was hiding while authorities were looking for him, he said.

"I haven't had an intelligent discussion with my client about the facts of the case," he said. "I haven't had an intelligent conversation with anybody, including you folks (the media), about the facts of the case."

According to the criminal complaint, Stiles is facing 20 felony charges related to the sexual assault and videotaping of a 2-year-old girl in Las Vegas several years ago. He also faces three felony charges alleging he molested a 6-year-old girl in Las Vegas in 2003.

A federal grand jury also indicted Stiles on charges of producing child pornography, according to the indictment that was unsealed Tuesday.

Stiles will likely face the state charges first, authorities said.

Stiles was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after Nye County authorities three weeks ago released images from a video allegedly showing Stiles sexually assaulting the 2-year-old.

That girl, who is now 7, was found safe in Las Vegas on Sept. 28. She is healthy and doesn't have any memory of the incident, said Jerry Donohue, a local attorney representing the girl's mother.

Henderson police arrested Stiles on Monday night on Green Valley Parkway and Sunset Road because the Buick Century he was driving didn't have license plates. Police didn't immediately recognize Stiles. But after further questioning, Stiles admitted who he was.

Stiles was booked into the county jail on Monday night and has remained there since. He is in an isolated cell and is confined there 23 hours a day, Banks said.

"I know isolation is a tough gig," he said.

Banks added he was still worried about Stiles' safety inside the jail.

"He's caught a lot of heat in the media, and guys in the jail watch television just like a lot of folks," he said. "It's a very prejudicial charge, so of course I'm concerned about his safety."

Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-4638.