Forget mob rats, John A. (Junior) Gotti has a new animal to fear - his family pit bull puppy.

Gotti’s wife, Kim, is nursing a sore arm after being bitten by the clan’s newest pooch, a family source told the Daily News Monday.

“She had it looked at, and nothing was needed except topical ointment,” the source said.

The 3-to-4-month-old puppy nipped Kim Gotti over the weekend at the family’s $1.3 million Oyster Bay Cove, L.I., mansion, the source said.

Rumors immediately swirled that the Gotti’s had had the dog whacked, but the family source called the gossip nonsense.

The source called the Gottis “devout animal lovers” who are determined to keep the normally cuddly canine.

The dog didn’t seem to have a vicious bone in him yesterday as he played outside the Gotti home with the other family pets, a German shepherd and another fluffy white friend.

A sign on the gate read, “Warning, Do Not Enter. Security Dog.”

Junior Gotti refused to admit the puppy was capable of carrying out an inside attack on his wife or any of his six children - Frankie, Nicolette, John, Peter, Gianna and 16-month-old Joe.

“No, my wife’s fine. Nothing like that happened,” Gotti told The News, insisting all he had to report was that he had a cold.

whutchinson@nydailynews.com

New York, NY (CNS) - Supermodel Tyra Banks isn’t so super to her employees. The 34-year-old fashion mogul treated her hardworking staff with plain lowend Christmas party and McDonald’s cheeseburgers.

Banks threw a “modest holiday party at a Lower East Side dive bar and her employees allegedly drank a lot because here was no food on hand.

Tyra arrived for a brief stop, looking like a million bucks, and said she was on her to Italy,” cyber gossip Janet Charlton says.

“Before she left, she told them ‘I want to thank you guys for working so hard - I have a special guest - here’s Santa!’

But instead of bearing gifts, Santa brought McDonald’s cheeseburgers.

Unhappy workers ended up drinking themselves senseless and brawling in the street. One needed an ambulance.”

Banks had just negotiated a $30 million deal for moving her show from L.A. to New York. Her rep didn’t return the calls.

The announced pregnancy of Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old sister of Britney Spears and the star of Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101,” opens up a wide range of complicated legal questions. Given Spears’ status as a minor, what does that mean for longtime boyfriend Casey Aldridge, whom Spears reportedly met while attending church services? Depending on a number of factors, it could mean jail time for Aldridge — who, depending on the source, is either 17, 18, or 19 — but only if Spears’ family decides to press charges, which, judging by the public statements made by press time, appears unlikely.

(At press time, MTV News was unable to confirm Aldridge’s age definitively: Many reports — including that of OK! magazine, which broke the story — say he’s 18, some say 19, his MySpace page says 17.)

Ultimately, the first question for investigators would be the “venue,” or the state in which the baby was conceived. Without that information, no criminal proceedings can be initiated. According to the penal codes of the three states where Aldridge and Spears, who turned 16 in April, were most likely to have conceived the child — California, where “Zoey 101″ is taped; Louisiana, where Spears lives when the show is between seasons, and where she has said she intends to raise her child; and Mississippi, where Aldridge resides — Aldridge’s paternity could potentially give rise to criminal charges.

According to the FBI’s definition, statutory rape is characterized as non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is younger than the statutory age of consent in each respective state. The actual ages for these laws vary greatly from state-to-state, as do the punishments for the alleged offenders. Many states do not use the term “statutory rape,” simply calling it “rape” or “unlawful sexual penetration,” among a variety of other titles. One such state is Mississippi, where the crime is called “having carnal knowledge of a child.”

MTV News consulted three legal experts — Father Lawrence Moore, associate dean of academic affairs for Loyola University’s College of Law in New Orleans; University of Mississippi School of Law professor Philip Broadhead; and Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office — who noted that these laws apply to any type of sexual contact. Dating someone without sexual contact cannot be considered a form of statutory rape, and is almost never illegal in any state. All states have an “age of consent,” or the age at which a person can legally consent to sexual activity and can then no longer be a victim of statutory rape.

Some states will make exceptions when the older person is also young or of a similar age, or if they marry the minor before the act of sexual intercourse or before being charged with the offense. These laws presume coercion, because a minor is legally incapable of giving consent to a sexual act.

In some states, criminal proceedings against an offender cannot be initiated unless the offended person’s family presses charges. Assuming the couple are in good standing, Aldridge is probably in the clear. However, several online reports have crept up in the wake of Spears’ announcement Tuesday night, claiming the couple’s relationship was over; they cite Aldridge’s alleged MySpace page, the headline of which reads “Me and Jamie Are Over :(.” If the couple have indeed split up and the parting was less than amicable, Spears and her parents could file a formal complaint, which would set the legal wheels in motion.

In Louisiana, the age of consensual sexual intercourse is 17. The state’s statutory-rape law goes into effect if the offender is 19 or older and has had sexual relations with a minor between ages 12 and 17; such offenses are considered felony crimes.

There’s also a misdemeanor version of the law, which states that if the offender is between ages 17 and 19, and has sexual relations with a person who is between ages 15 and 17 with the difference in both participants’ ages being at least two years, the offender could be charged with misdemeanor carnal knowledge of a juvenile. Those convicted face up to 10 years behind bars, with or without hard labor.

The New York Post quoted Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Travis of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, where the Spears family lives as saying that the couple broke no state laws if the child was conceived in Louisiana.

“From my preliminary investigation, she is 16 and he is 18,” he said. “If, in fact, it happened in the state of Louisiana, that does not violate any criminal statutes.” However, if Aldridge was 19 at the time of conception, there could be a case.

In Mississippi, the age of consent is 16 and the sentence for carnal knowledge of a minor is up to five years in jail, in addition to a $5,000 fine. This offense is committed when a person who is 17 or older engages in sexual intercourse with a minor who is at least 14 but under age 16; however, if the victim is less than 36 months younger than the offender, then no crime has been committed.

According to University of Mississippi School of Law professor Philip Broadhead, the state amended the sexual battery and rape statutes six years ago, raising the age of consent from 14 to 16.

“There are exceptions to the law,” he said. “For instance, a 17-year-old has sex with his 14-year-old girlfriend — they put age ranges into the statute to lessen the penalties and in some cases do away with the penalties altogether. The bottom line is, the Mississippi legislature raised the age of consent to 16. [However,] if a 16-year-old girl has a 19-year-old partner, that’s statutory rape — absolutely.

“The venue would be important as to what specific law applies, of course, but proving that would be difficult, because [Spears may not] cooperate and he has a right to remain silent,” he continued. “Jurisdiction and venue are the first things you need to answer. If you can’t, there’s no going forward.”

California’s penal code is comparatively simple. It puts the age of consent at 18, and defines unlawful sexual intercourse as “an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator, if the person is a minor.” The crime is a misdemeanor if the offender is less than three years older or three years older than the victim; someone more than three years older could be charged with a felony.

Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, said a person is considered an adult in California when they turn 18. She wouldn’t speculate as to Aldridge’s criminal culpability, reiterating what Broadhead said about the site of the alleged offense.

“It doesn’t make any difference if [Spears] works [in California], it’s where the sex occurred,” she said. “I don’t know where the child was conceived and I’m not sure what the circumstances are. The law is clear.”

(Head here for fans’ and celebrities’ reactions to Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy, and for an update on Lynne Spears’ parenting book.)

Do you think Jamie Lynn is setting a poor example for her fans? Has she damaged her career? Share your thoughts below.

R. Kelly may have just traded the closet for the great state of Illinois. Either way, he could be trapped.

The rapper managed to avoid arrest Thursday morning by appearing, at last, in a Chicago courtroom for a hearing in his long-pending child-pornography case. But his good fortune—and travel privileges—may end there.

Patience-tried Cook County Criminal Court Judge Vincent Gaughan said he was “very disappointed” about Kelly’s Wednesday no-show, not just because of its lack of respect toward the court but because the rapper had specifically requested his hearing be moved to that date for “financial reasons.”

He further told the 40-year-old R&B star, who is currently in the midst of a 45-city tour, that the court will be reviewing the terms of Kelly’s bond and decide on Friday whether it should be revoked or whether to bar the “I Believe I Can Fly” star from traveling outside the state, effectively putting the kibosh on the remainder of his tour.

Gaughan is also expected to set a start date for Kelly’s trial on Friday, a date nearly six years in the making. After endless delays and pretrial motions from the defense, proceedings were expected to kick off on Sept. 17, but were—at least until now—indefinitely pushed back.

Kelly’s Thursday appearance came a day after Gaughan threatened to activate a bench warrant for the singer’s arrest should he not appear in court by 9 a.m. The warning was issued at the urging of state prosecutors, who called his MIA status not only “disrespectful” but an “abuse of the process.”

Kelly’s attorney, Ed Genson, told the judge his client had every intention of making it to the court on Wednesday, but circumstances beyond his control—namely inclement weather and Utah’s finest—prevented him from making it on time.

Per Genson, Kelly was en route to Chicago from a tour stop in Sacramento, only to have the bus trip delayed by snowy weather. On Tuesday morning, shortly after the four-bus caravan was able to get back on the road, they were pulled over for speeding by the Utah Highway Patrol, at which time officers also found the drivers hadn’t taken mandatory rest time.

The buses were due to be put out of service for eight hours, but thanks to some legal finagling, were able to get back on the road after no more than four hours of idling.

While the buses were parked, Kelly was free to go. Yet, he opted to remain with his tour crew.

In 2002, Kelly was charged with child pornography after being accused of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl, who prosecutors say may have been as young as 13 years old at the time. He denies the charges, but could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

We haven’t heard one good thing about J.L. Spears‘ pregnancy all day. Mama Spears is “very disappointed,” Papa Spears is “devastated” and Jamie Lynn has already sold the baby pictures once the kid gets out!

But finally, People comes through for us and announces that the Spears fam “adores” baby planter Casey Aldridge. Although we’re not quite sure why, given the reasons they list .

Apparently, he often crashed at the condo Jamie Lynn and Lynne shared during Zoey 101′s production. He would also drive her to work and hang around set all day while she filmed. (Hmmm, so there was probably enough downtime on set to do some baby making and  make it home by curfew.)

People says all this impressed Mom and Pops, but we’re not so easy. He sounds a little bit like a freeloader to us.

Fear not, though, we are reassured that “he has all sorts of plans for his future. He wants to start his own business, maybe get a degree and make something of himself.” We wish him the best of luck on that.

Oh, how young, unprotected sex can really set you back.