PHOENIX (KSAZ) -
19-year-old Tyler Kost appeared in a Pinal County courtroom Monday. His attorneys are pushing to have the social media records of his accusers put into evidence in the case.
They argue Facebook Group Chat messages between some of his accusers prove he is not a serial rapists. Instead, they say he is a victim of a shocking conspiracy perpetuated by the girls who were out to get him.
"Over a year ago Mr. Kost was publicly accused of being a serial rapist. What we know now is that there was a group of girls who conspired against Tyler to put him in jail. They succeeded in that, and Tyler has now been in jail for over a year based on those lies," said Christine Whalin, Kost's attorney.
In their motion, the defense team included some of the group Facebook messages obtained by Pinal County Sheriff's Office detectives between the alleged victims one week before the allegations were reported. Saying; "Tyler needs to be taught a lesson" and "We should sacrifice him to Satan."
Another exchange read; "Let's (expletive) with his mind and car" and "Exactly, I'm down.", along with "Yes, I already know this is going to be so much fun!"
The young women also set a date to watch the 2006 movie "John Tucker Must Die" in which a group of high school girls exact revenge on a cheating ex-boyfriend.
"The chats saying "We should all just hangout, and watch the movie, and plan."
As for why the girls would make the abuse allegations up, Kost's lawyer says the goal was to "Take revenge for him being a player."
The judge said he would take the defense's request to get the social media records of the other alleged victims under advisement. He could render a decision in a few weeks.
The Pinal County Attorney also issued a brief statement on the case saying, "Tyler Kost is presumed innocent unless proven guilty."