John Edwards Sex Tape Awarded to Ex-Mistress Rielle Hunter
Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards' former mistress has won a settlement that keeps a purported sex tape in her possession.
On Thursday Orange County, N.C., Superior Court Judge Carl Fox signed the settlement agreement between Andrew Young, his wife and Rielle Hunter, according to court officials.
Hunter had sued Young and his wife, Cheri, in which she sought to regain possession of personal items such as photographs and an alleged sex tape that showed her with Edwards.
A spokesperson for Rielle Hunter explained that the settlement returned the "disputed property" to Hunter, declaring the agreement a victory.
"Ms. Hunter is very pleased. She won," RoseMarie Terenzio told WTVD.
In the settlement, the Young's agreed to return the tape as well as other property. The disputed property has been stored in the vault of a North Carolina courthouse.
"We are very pleased that this settlement achieved all that she had ever hoped to achieve with this lawsuit," said Allison Van Laningham, one of Hunter's lawyers.
A lawyer for the Youngs said they were pleased with the settlement.
"There were no `winners' as such, in that each side had returned back to it that which it believed was its own property, although it was mutually agreed that certain materials should, per the court's order, be destroyed," lawyer David Pishko said.
He continued: "Notably, notwithstanding the outlandish efforts of Ms. Hunter's legal counsel to try to paint Mr. and Mrs. Young as liars and thieves, nothing could be further from the truth, as is unequivocally evidenced by this settlement agreement."
Edwards faces six felony and misdemeanor counts after he was indicted last year. He is charged with using nearly $1 million provided by two wealthy donors to help hide his mistress from the public.
Edwards served a single term in the U.S. Senate before becoming the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004.