ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CLEVELAND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jose Mesa is acquitted of charges brought by two women, but his legal woes are not over yet.
Jose Mesa shed tears of joy and relief Wednesday as he was acquitted of all charges in his rape trial, but his legal problems aren't over yet.
A jury cleared the Cleveland Indians relief pitcher of one count of rape, two counts of gross sexual imposition and one count of theft.
Mesa still must stand trial on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon.
A hearing in the second trial is scheduled for this morning, with jury selection to begin Monday. Mesa could receive up to 18 months in prison if convicted, said his attorney, Gerald Messerman.
On Wednesday, however, Mesa and his wife, Mirla, didn't try to contain their emotions after clearing their first legal hurdle. They both wept as the acquittal verdicts were read.
``God [caused] the jury to do this because ... they knew I didn't do that stuff,'' Mesa said after the trial.
Mirla Mesa said her faith in God kept her going, but acknowledged it hadn't been easy.
``It's been difficult, I cannot lie,'' she said of the trial's effect on their marriage. ``There's a lot of people who do worse. ... People make mistakes and you have to forgive.''
The trial resulted from complaints filed by two women.
A 26-year-old woman testified that Mesa raped her by forcing his hand into her jeans and underpants during a ride to a suburban Cleveland motel early on Dec. 22. Her friend, also 26, testified Mesa also fondled both women in a room of the motel. Mesa was charged with rape under an Ohio law that expands the definition to include penetration other than intercourse.
Mesa, 30, had faced up to 13 1/2 years in prison if convicted on all charges. A citizen of the Dominican Republic, he also could have faced deportation hearings if convicted of any of them.
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS. Jose Mesa is hugged by his wife,by CNBMirla, after being acquitted on charges of rape, gross sexual
imposition and theft in Cleveland. color.