THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 5, 1996 TAG: 9604050520
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
State police have completed an investigation into a student's allegation she was raped by two Virginia Tech football players and turned over the results to a local prosecutor.
The investigation comes a year and a half after Christy Brzonkala claims she was raped by James Crawford and Tony Morrison.
Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith said Wednesday he expects to make a decision by early next week on whether there is a criminal case to prosecute. He said the only charges that could come out of the investigation would be rape charges; the statute of limitations has expired on lesser charges such as sexual battery.
Keith said the state police investigation drew no conclusion about the allegation or the players' guilt.
Brzonkala has filed a federal lawsuit against Virginia Tech, the two players and a third player she claims witnessed the attack. After the lawsuit was filed earlier this year, state Attorney General James Gilmore asked the state police to investigate.
Brzonkala, who requested that her name be used in news stories about the case, alleges in her lawsuit that Morrison and Crawford raped her in September 1994 while Cornell Brown watched. She reported the alleged rape to campus authorities the next semester.
She also contends in her lawsuit that Virginia Tech sexually discriminated against her by giving favorable treatment to Morrison in university judicial proceedings because he was a valuable member of the football team.
A school panel found Morrison, who says whatever happened was consensual, guilty of sexual assault. The panel suspended him for two semesters, but the university charge later was reduced and the suspension vacated. Crawford was cleared of all university charges by the same panel. The school never charged Brown.
The lawsuit seeks $10 million from Morrison and unspecified damages from the other players and the university. Morrison and Crawford are accused of assault and battery in the lawsuit, and all three players are accused of false imprisonment for allegedly confining Brzonkala against her will. by CNB