A homicide charge was filed Wednesday against a man accused of striking and killing a Madison bicycling advocate June 30 in the town of Cottage Grove.

Tracy J. Sorum, 29, of Cottage Grove, was charged with homicide by negligent driving for the crash that killed bicyclist Jessica Bullen, 29, near the intersection of Hope Road and Oakwood Drive.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court, Sorum told police that he had taken his eyes off the road to examine his throat in his car's rear view mirror when he struck Bullen.

"This is totally my fault," Sorum told Cottage Grove Police Officer Vincent Jeffords shortly after the crash, the complaint states.

According to the complaint:

Sorum explained to Jeffords that he had strep throat and said there was something in his throat. He said he was traveling at 25 mph when he took his eyes off the road to look into the rear view mirror to see what it was. He said he did not see Bullen until around the time his car struck her.

The area where the crash occurred is fairly level, and visibility was good that day, the complaint states.

\ Sex exploitation charged

A Madison man was charged Wednesday with videotaping sexual encounters between himself and a 16-year-old boy, according to a criminal complaint.

Gregory A. Ledbetter, 38, was charged with sexual exploitation of a child in connection with a series of incidents that occurred at apartments where Ledbetter lived.

According to a criminal complaint, the boy told Madison police that he met Ledbetter in May, and that led to a sexual relationship during which Ledbetter videotaped sex acts between them. The boy later moved into a West Broadway apartment with Ledbetter, the complaint states.

The boy said Ledbetter became controlling of him and he ended the relationship. On Sunday, the complaint states, police searched Ledbetter's apartment, where they found a video camera and 15 videotapes labeled with the boy's name and age.

Ledbetter was jailed on $2,500 bail.

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