ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 17, 1996 TAG: 9612170057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on December 18, 1996.
Virginia Tech football player James L. Crawford was suspended from
the team and missed the Sugar Bowl a year ago because of a November 1995
arrest on a hit-and-run charge. He later pleaded guiltyy to the lesser
offense of disorderly conduct. The cause of his suspension from the 1995
bowl game was reported incorrectly Tuesday.
Police arrested two Virginia Tech football players Monday on charges of rape and attempted sodomy after investigating a complaint filed by another Tech student.
Brian L. Edmonds, 22, and James L. Crawford, 20, face one charge each of rape and attempted sodomy after a woman told police she was raped early Saturday by both men. The men were arrested Monday afternoon; both posted $45,000 bonds early in the evening to gain their release.
The men's lawyers say the woman filed the complaint to get money from the football players. Both players deny having sex with the woman, according to their attorneys.
Contacted in person at her Blacksburg apartment Monday night, the woman said she didn't report the incident to seek money, but sought charges because the players violated her.
Tech officials say it is too early to take any action against the players, but they will make a decision this week about their status with the team. Both men are allowed to leave Virginia under the terms of their release.
The arrests come a month after eight Tech football players and one former player were indicted in connection with assault and abduction allegations and two weeks before the Orange Bowl, the biggest post-season game in Tech football history.
Blacksburg Police Chief Bill Brown said the woman was treated at a local hospital Saturday and released.
Joe Painter, lead attorney for the players, said witnesses said they saw the woman demand money from Edmonds and Crawford early Saturday after she jimmied the lock on the sliding glass door and broke into the men's Progress Street apartment. He said she did not complain to police until nearly 11 hours after she said the rape happened.
The woman's demands for money, Painter said, stem from a local rumor that players pay off other accusers after criminal charges.
"We will take steps to make sure this travesty is taken care of," Painter said on WDBJ (Channel 7).
Crawford and Edmonds were ordered to have no contact with the woman, "even if initiated by her," a bond document states.
Crawford, a reserve wide receiver for Tech, is one of two football players accused of rape in a high-profile federal lawsuit brought by Christy Brzonkala, a former Tech student. The allegation caused Crawford to miss Tech's Sugar Bowl victory in New Orleans last year.
The U.S. Justice Department has appealed U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser's July ruling that found that the Violence Against Women Act, under which Brzonkala brought her accusations, is unconstitutional.
Brzonkala did not report the alleged September 1994 dorm room attack for several months. This past April, a Montgomery County grand jury declined to indict Crawford following a lengthy state police investigation into Brzonkala's allegations.
Crawford pleaded guilty in February to an unrelated disorderly conduct charge in connection with a November 1995 incident in which he bumped a woman with a car after it had been towed by Tech for numerous unpaid parking tickets.
Edmonds, a starting fullback for the Hokies, is among six current players awaiting a court appearance for a misdemeanor assault and battery charge in connection with an Aug. 31 brawl on College Avenue. After that incident, Hilliard Sumner, a Tech track athlete, was treated for a broken collarbone and multiple bruises.
Sumner said in September that 15 to 20 Tech football players attacked him after a party at Squires Student Center.
Two former players also were charged in the incident. One had already quit the team before the indictments and the other was dismissed from the squad after being indicted on a felony charge of attempted malicious wounding. A ninth player, charged in connection with a separate abduction allegation, was also kicked off the team.
The current rape charges are unfounded, according to Painter, who said town police are not investigating crimes committed by the men's accuser.
Painter said police should be following up on information that she broke into the apartment the football players shared and attacked Crawford by hitting him with a boot. Painter said Blacksburg investigators were present when his clients said they would like to pursue charges against the woman for assault and breaking and entering.
Brown said officers did hear rumors about the woman's demands for money and that she broke into the apartment, but no official complaint by the players has been filed with the Blacksburg police.
"When we get a complaint with this department from the victim [the players], we will investigate," Brown said.
Larry Hincker, associate vice president for university relations, said Tech officials will gather facts about the incident and make a decision this week as to the players' status on the team.
"We want to act quickly if we can," Hincker said. The Orange Bowl will be Dec. 31 in Miami.
After the Nov. 6 indictments were issued by the Montgomery County Circuit Court grand jury, Tech dismissed two players from the football team and issued one-game suspensions to the others. Those actions came immediately after the indictments because police had worked on their investigation for nine weeks and Tech had completed its own investigation, Hincker said.
He said university officials did not know about the new rape charges until they saw them unfold on the television news Monday evening.
Both men will be arraigned Jan. 16 in Blacksburg General District Court.
Staff writers Allison Blake, Brian Kelley and Elizabeth Obenshain contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Edmonds, Crawfordby CNB