ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701270085
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
LEGAL OBSERVERS are assessing the implications not only of defendants suing their accusers, but the speed with which two Virginia Tech football players filed a $32 million lawsuit.
One day after two Virginia Tech football players were charged with rape and attempted sodomy, their lawyer took the unusual step of holding a news conference to announce that the athletes had filed a $32 million lawsuit against their accuser.
The athletes not only say they never had sex with the woman, but also claim she broke into their apartment hours after a gathering there, hit one of them in the leg and threatened both with extortion, according to their lawsuit and their attorney, Matt Pethybridge of Blacksburg.
"You're going to the NFL," their lawsuit says she told starting fullback Brian Edmonds, "and I'm going with you."
Legal observers are assessing the implications not only of criminal defendants suing their accusers, but the speed with which the suit was filed by Edmonds and reserve wide receiver James Crawford.
"It looks like a great bludgeon to drop charges, or to punish her," said Nancy Brock, executive director of Response, a Norfolk-based assault crisis center.
David Caudill, a feminist law scholar from Washington and Lee Law School who also has represented professional athletes, mused on the case this way:
"As intimidation, possibly," said Caudill, who was not familiar with the details. "Although possibly as a proper response somebody would have if they were utterly horrified to send a message, you're not guilty."
Pethybridge flatly denied any attempt to bully.
"We didn't file the suit to intimidate her," he said. "Now that sounds like a ludicrous thing to say, because a $32million lawsuit is factually intimidating. But that was not our motive. Our motive was to right a wrong."
Blacksburg police, after investigating the woman's complaint for two days, decided the evidence justified seeking warrants against the men. The morning after the alleged attack, the woman, described by an engineering department faculty member as ``just a nice girl," underwent an 18-step hospital exam routinely administered to rape victims, Blacksburg Police Chief Bill Brown said.
The men's criminal complaint against their accuser remains under investigation, said Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith. No charges have been filed.
She was served with the lawsuit Jan.13, the day second-semester classes started at Tech, and has until Feb. 4 to respond. Her attorney, Ed Stone of Radford, isn't commenting on her case. Asked if he's concerned for his client, Stone said he's concerned for anyone who has to go through the costly, burdensome judicial system today.
Edmonds and Crawford will be back in Blacksburg General District Court for a preliminary hearing on the criminal charges Feb. 20.
The timing of the athletes' lawsuit concerns some observers.
Some wonder whether it will deter victims from coming forward. Judy Casteele, a sexual assault counselor with the Women's Resource Center in Radford, said women she has worked with have told her that their assailants have threatened them with defamation or slander suits.
"The more I think about it, the more horrified I am," said Brock, of Norfolk. "If there's nothing to protect somebody from being sued, why would you go through all the pain and suffering of bringing charges to begin with?"
Sexual assault generally is considered to be one of the least reported crimes in the country. Casteele estimates that 10 percent of the 90 or so victims she sees each year in the New River Valley want to go through with a criminal prosecution.
"I think that they're afraid that nothing will be done," Casteele said. "They'll go out and tell everything, and the system won't take any action."
Attorneys are watching the legal strategy behind the filing.
Typically, a criminal proceeding plays out before attorneys file a related civil action. A defendant found not guilty in a criminal trial may file suit in civil court, often for malicious prosecution or defamation.
But this is not a typical case. It involves players on the highly successful Tech football team and came at the end of a year in which 18 Hokie players were arrested and six convicted. Ten still have charges pending.
Virginia Beach lawyer Tom Shuttleworth believes high-profile defendants are held to a higher standard in court. He represented University of Virginia basketball player Harold Deane, who was recently cleared of resisting arrest during an August party.
"Prosecutors are very conscious of criticism they're treating them specially," Shuttleworth said.
Skip Schwab, the prosecutor handling the case against Edmonds and Crawford, said that by filing a civil suit right away, the football players outlined their side "without it coming through the court to question the evidence." The complaints in a civil case are far more detailed than criminal court papers, explained Schwab, the assistant commonwealth's attorney for Montgomery County.
Pethybridge, spokesman on the case for a new Blacksburg law firm that represents both athletes, said his clients are innocent and that there's no specific reason why the suit was filed when it was.
(Pethybridge's partner Joe Painter said he no longer is commenting publicly on the case because of his "emotionalism" following his clients' arrest. Painter also represented Crawford in the highly publicized rape suit brought against him and teammate Tony Morrison by former Tech student Christy Brzonkala.)
Dec. 16, the night Crawford and Edmonds were charged, they returned to their lawyers' Main Street offices. Edmonds said something like "How could she do this?" or "How can she get away with this?" Pethybridge said.
"Our response to that was to sit him down - and James, too - and tell them their options. The first thing we said is, 'Look, you're going to have your day in court. You're going to have the ability to defend yourselves against these charges,' and they said, 'Yeah, well, that's it?'''
That's when the attorneys explained that the men could file a civil suit in addition to seeking criminal charges, Pethybridge said.
The 32-year-old lawyer, who graduated from W&L Law School a year and a half ago, began typing the brief. He finished about 7:30 the next morning.
"So the why of the timing was never specifically addressed," Pethybridge said.
The timing of a far more high-profile case could serve as an unexpected ally to the Tech athletes. Less than a month after the Blacksburg arrests, Dallas Cowboys Michael Irvin and Erik Williams were cleared of a rape accusation. Their accuser now faces charges.
"Everybody has the benefit of seeing what happened to Michael Irvin being falsely accused of a very serious crime," said Shuttleworth, the Virginia Beach lawyer.
The $32 million figure in the Tech players' suit assumes they will be drafted into the NFL and that the allegations will damage their earning potential. Both were suspended from the Tech team and missed the Orange Bowl. The sum largely represents the amount of money they could make in the NFL, Pethybridge said. Edmonds, a senior, is asking for $18.6 million. Crawford, who was a sophomore reserve, is asking for $13 million.
Pethybridge said the civil suit shouldn't stop crime reports.
"I will tell you that my sympathies lie entirely with the victims of crime," he said. "But in this case, James and Brian are the victims of crime."
Don Caldwell, the commonwealth's attorney in Roanoke, thinks this case may be unique and won't deter victims from coming forward.
"Some situations tend to take on a bigger-than-life quality," he said. "Certainly, the athletes up at Virginia Tech and all the problems they've had just puts the whole situation on a different level in terms of attention they've received."
But the attorney for a coalition of victim advocates is concerned.
"Just the pressure of being sued to that extent would discourage anybody from bringing those kinds of claims again," said Janice Redinger, attorney for Virginians Allied Against Sexual Assault in Charlottesville.
The local police chief has his doubts, too.
"I think it will raise some concerns from young, college-aged victims in this community, and probably, with the coverage, it may have some effect on other areas: whether they should report or not report," Brown said.
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