MOORHEAD — A judge has issued a gag order in the case of two Nebraska hockey players charged with making a sex video with a 15-year-old girl at a Moorhead motel last winter.

Judge Michael Fritz says there is a “substantial likelihood of prejudicing the jury” if attorneys continue talking publicly about the case.

Last month, defense attorneys called the girl a “sexual predator.” Clay County Attorney Brian Melton responded by calling one of the defense attorneys a “hatchet woman.”

Thomas Carey and Brandon Smith, both 19 at the time, were suspended indefinitely from the U.S. Hockey League’s Lincoln Stars in June after they were charged with using a minor in a sexual performance, possession of child pornography and distributing pornography.

The gag order remains in place until the case is closed.