RAPE VICTIM SAYS SHE DIDN'T INTEND TO RUIN TYSON

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 22, 1992                   TAG: 9202220097
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS                                LENGTH: Medium
RAPE VICTIM SAYS SHE DIDN'T INTEND TO RUIN TYSON
The woman Mike Tyson was convicted of raping says she pursued charges against the boxer because he needs help.
In her first television interview, Desiree Washington told ABC News' "20-20" she thinks Tyson is sick and should be sentenced to prison "for as long as it takes for him to be rehabilitated." The interview was to air Friday night.
Asked what she would say if she could talk with Tyson, Washington said: "I would tell him, `You need help, you know - I didn't do this to hurt you. I didn't do this to take your career away.
"I did it because you need help, and if your so-called friends weren't big enough to tell you, at least I was.' "
A jury on Feb. 10 convicted Tyson of rape and criminal deviate conduct against Washington, who was a contestant in the Miss Black America pageant when she met the former heavyweight champion last July.
Tyson could face up to 60 years in prison, but sentencing patterns indicate he likely will get a dozen years or less. He is to be sentenced March 27.
Washington, 19, told "20-20" she was offered $1 million to recant her allegations against Tyson. However, she said she wasn't at liberty to say who made the offer.
"I reported it to my lawyer, who took it to a higher authority, and it's being taken care of," said Washington, of Coventry, R.I.
New York Newsday, citing a source close to an FBI investigation into Washington's allegation, reported Friday the offer was made by the Rev. Virgil A. Wood, pastor of Pond Street Baptist Church in Providence, R.I.
Wood denied making the offer. He said he wouldn't provide detailed comment until he watched the interview and had time to reflect on it.
"I categorically deny the Newsday story. That's as much statement as I can make this morning," Wood said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Wood said he knew some members of Washington's family, including her father.
"Mr. Washington filmed my daughter's wedding about two years ago," Wood said. "I would say I've had a casual acquaintance in a pastoral context setting with Miss Washington."
Meanwhile, Rob Smith, a spokesman for the prosecutor, said Friday that attorneys were continuing to investigate reports that a juror said the verdict in Tyson's trial was fixed.
Indianapolis attorney Robert Prather told the prosecutor on Monday that he overheard a juror make the comment last Saturday at a gymnasium.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB