The man accused of robbing migrant workers while he distracted them with prostitutes was on trial Tuesday for the felony charges of second degree robbery and two counts of second-degree burglary and the misdemeanors of unlawful imprisonment and promoting prostitution.

Clarence Brown, 56, formerly of Sodus, sat silently in his chair as the victims, witnesses and codefendants took the stand to testify that Clarence in 2005 allegedly stole CDs, DVDs, Play Stations and other items from migrant workers' apartments while they were in their bedrooms with a prostitute they purchased from Clarence for $20.

Brown's attorney, Samuel Tamburo, said he questioned the strength and the validity of some of the witnesses' testimony.

"Two of the women were his codefendants who were offered deals to testify," Tamburo said. "I think that calls into question their credibility."

Tamburo made this evident when he cross examined codefendant Kelly Finnerty, 26, who is facing two to four years in state prison for possessing a forged check in an unrelated case.

Tamburo pointed out Finnerty was also charged with making a false statement to police officers when she was arrested with the forged check.

Shannon Terwilliger, another codefendant, also testified that she saw Clarence steal items from the workers after selling them sex with a prostitute.

Tamburo said he believed some of the testimony between the two women did not match up when they recounted the events that occurred that night.

During the trial the two women said they had traveled to two migrant camps, but the women appeared to have a different recollection of the order in which the events took place on New Year's Eve.

The prosecution and the defense also struggled through gaps in the women's memories about the events that happened that night.

"I do not recall," Finnerty replied when asked what she did after robbing the migrant workers. "We possibly went to Rochester, I know we did that a lot but I don't recall that night in particular. That was three years ago. Three years later I don't recall half the things, I'm just trying to put it behind me."

Read the full report in Wednesday's edition of The Citizen.