The lawyer for James Colliton will seek to downplay a damaging statement made by his high-profile client, a Cravath Swaine & Moore attorney accused of paying two underage sisters for sex, in court papers expected to be filed in the coming days.

The motion, to be filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, will dispute whether Mr. Colliton ever made the terse statement that the authorities claim he made to police officers on February 25, shortly after he was initially arrested in Toronto and then inexplicably released.

Papers released by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office allege that Mr. Colliton said: “I’m going to get 12 years for what I did. I’d rather do the time in Canada. There are too many gangs in U.S. prison.” Mr. Colliton’s attorney, Howard Greenberg, said he intends to dispute whether Mr. Colliton ever made that statement.

Mr. Greenberg said he had originally planned to file a letter with the court today, but said his motion would be delayed because of an unanticipated court appearance for Mr. Colliton this afternoon. Mr. Greenberg said that a new indictment would come down, charging Mr. Colliton with having sexual relations with a third victim. That third victim is a relative of Mr. Colliton’s two current accusers, Mr. Greenberg said. A spokeswoman for the D.A.’s office declined to confirm whether a new indictment would be released.

Mr. Colliton, 42, is alleged to have paid two underage sisters for sex and to have paid their mother to keep quiet about his involvement with her daughters. Last week, the mother of the two daughters pleaded guilty to charges of endangering the welfare of a child and avoided being prosecuted under more serious charges. Mr. Greenberg said he expects the mother to testify on Mr. Colliton’s behalf should he stand trial.

Mr. Colliton, a father of five from Poughkeepsie, was arrested in the East Village on March 3, after Canadian authorities apprehended him and then released him days earlier. The details of his arrest and release in Canada remain unclear.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has released only the statement Colliton allegedly made to the Canadian authorities, and a second statement to a New York detective on the morning of his arrest.

In that second statement, taken down an hour after his arrest, Mr. Colliton is alleged to have said: “I would like to voluntarily surrender myself if there are any charges pending against me.”

Mr. Greenberg, who took on the case free of charge when Mr. Colliton was unable to afford his previous attorney, said he believes that Mr. Colliton likely said much more to the police, but that in both cases authorities chose to take down only isolated sentences.

Mr. Greenberg disputed whether Mr. Colliton ever made the statement he is alleged to have made to police in Toronto. “He spoke to police without hiding behind the Miranda warnings,” Mr. Greenberg said by telephone yesterday. “There is no question about it.There is a context to what was memorialized. One of those memorializations is incorrect. He said, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to get 12 years for something I didn’t do.'”

Mr. Greenberg said he anticipated treating the Toronto police officer who took down Mr. Colliton’s statement, Detective Constable Oliver Williams, to “some American style cross-examination home cooking” if the case goes to trial.

Mr. Greenberg has said his defense of Mr. Colliton will focus on casting doubt on the credibility of his accusers, who are now aged 15 and 21. Mr. Colliton’s alleged relationship with the sisters goes back to the year 2000.

The case against Mr. Colliton began when a caseworker for the Administration of Children’s Services brought a complaint to the police. When he announced the charges against Mr. Colliton in early March, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said the investigation was ongoing, and raised the possibility that Mr. Colliton may have been involved with other children as well.

Mr. Colliton is being held at Rikers Island, where he is isolated from the general inmate population, Mr. Greenberg said. Mr. Colliton has not yet filed an application for bail, because he is facing financial difficulties.

His former law firm, Cravath Swaine & Moore, refuses to discuss any particular aspect of Mr. Colliton’s employment with the firm. News reports state that Mr. Colliton once was paid $500,000 annually.