John Edwards’ ex-mistress wins ownership of sex tape

RALEIGH, N.C. — Rielle Hunter, former mistress of John Edwards, won ownership through a legal settlement Thursday of a tape showing her and Edwards having sex during his 2008 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Hunter had sued former Edwards aide Andrew Young and his wife in 2010 over the tape and other personal items the couple said she left in a box of trash. Hunter lived with the Youngs while she was pregnant, and Young initially said he was the father.

In the settlement, the Youngs agreed to give up their claim on the tape and other property, which has been held in the vault of a North Carolina courthouse. Hunter has long wanted the tape destroyed.

“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.

The Youngs also agreed not to talk publicly about the tape or the other items, which include photos of Hunter in a bikini as well as picture of her with her child. There is also a tape of Frances Quinn Hunter’s birth. She turns 4 on Monday.

RoseMarie Terenzio, a spokeswoman for Hunter, told WTVD-TV in Raleigh that Hunter “is very pleased. She won.”