THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110322
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
A Montgomery County grand jury, after hearing results of a state police inquiry, found Wednesday that there was insufficient evidence to indict two Virginia Tech football players accused of raping a woman in their dormitory room.
The criminal aspect of the case is now closed. But Tony Morrison, a former star football player for Chesapeake's Indian River High School, and James Crawford remain defendants in a civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke by Christy Brzonkala, a former Tech student who now attends George Mason University.
The two-month state police investigation requested by Attorney General James S. Gilmore III drew no conclusion about the players' guilt or innocence. Montgomery County Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Keith presented evidence from the investigation to the five jurors. Results of the investigation were not made public.
Brzonkala, Morrison and Crawford declined offers to testify before the grand jury. Keith chose not to subpoena them.
Morrison's father, Jim, a Chesapeake teacher, said of the grand jury's decision: ``It is good news, but we still have a lot in front of us.''
Attorneys representing the players characterized the grand jury's decision as a vindication for their clients, both of whom have maintained their innocence.
``When a grand jury refuses to indict, it means there's no probable cause to believe a crime was committed,'' said Morrison's attorney, David Paxton. ``It's a pretty good indication of what people think of the allegations - which is not a whole lot.''
U.S. District Judge Jackson Kiser will decide if the grand jury's decision can be admitted as evidence in the civil case, Paxton said.
Crawford's attorney, Joe Painter, said the burden of proof in a civil case is similar to that of a grand jury hearing but lower than the burden of proof in a criminal trial.
Brzonkala's attorney, Eileen Wagner of Richmond, said there is no correlation because there is a wider range of claims being made in the civil case.
The only charge that could have come out of the criminal investigation was rape; the statute of limitations has expired on lesser charges, such as sexual battery.
``We are not entirely surprised by it because of the passage of time,'' Wagner said of the grand jury decision. ``It is hard for people to remember the kinds of details that are necessary in a criminal court.''
Brzonkala, who has requested that her name be used in reports about the case, claims that Morrison and Crawford raped her in September 1994 while another football player, All-American defensive end 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 in the alleged attack, and he was not a subject of the criminal investigation.
The lawsuit seeks $10 million from Morrison and unspecified damages from the other players and the university. Morrison and Crawford are accused of rape, aggravated sexual battery and assault and battery in the lawsuit, and all three players are accused of false imprisonment for allegedly confining Brzonkala against her will. Morrison also is accused of defamation of character.
As a senior at Indian River, Morrison was chosen for the Group AAA All-State football team as both a quarterback and defensive back. He also was a standout basketball player at the high school.
The case is the first major test of the federal Violence Against Women Act, which was passed a week before Brzonkala visited the football players' suite at an athletic dormitory at Virginia Tech on the night of the alleged attack.
The federal law, which allows victims of gender-motivated crimes to sue their alleged attackers, does not require a criminal conviction for a victim to bring suit.
``That's why we have the Violence Against Women Act,'' Wagner said. ``With sexual assaults, an awful lot falls through the cracks. One of the things Congress wanted to do (with the law), was close some of those cracks. They wanted people to know if the criminal system can't make a case, they have another'' avenue through civil court.
Painter claimed Wednesday that Brzonkala's case is racially motivated, saying it's ``no mere coincidence'' that she is white and the three football players are black.
``The cry of rape along with images of African-American males pitted against a white female is racism at its most base level,'' Painter said in a statement. ``This case is not about violence against women; this case is about money and race.
``Do you really believe if these were white athletes, there'd be all this hoopla? I don't.''
Wagner said she's ``mystified'' by the racism charge. ``This is about male and female. This has nothing to do with race. It has more to do with special preferential privileges accorded to all males in athletics.''
Painter also questioned Brzonkala's absence before the grand jury.
``Why didn't she testify - if her whole purpose (in filing suit) is so this doesn't happen to other women?'' he asked. ``She's told her story to everyone else in the world.''
Wagner said she and Brzonkala discussed whether her testifying would help, but decided that ``she felt confident in what she told'' the state police. MEMO: The Associated Press, staff writer Steve Carlson and Jan Vertefeuille of
The Roanoke Times contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
Tony Morrison is a former football star at Chesapeake's Indian River
High School.
KEYWORDS: GRAND JURY RAPE VIRGINIA TECH by CNB