Caught on Cell Phone: Minnesota Football Player Charged In Sex Assault
Prosecutors say a Minnesota football player had sex with an unconscious woman.
July 17, 2007 — -- A University of Minnesota football player was charged this week with criminal sexual conduct for allegedly having sex with an unconscious woman at a party, and police say part of the incident was caught on a cell phone camera.
Dominic Lee Jones, a 20-year-old cornerback for the University of Minnesota Gophers, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Tuesday, Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill set bail at $25,000. Jones' attorney said his client would plead not guilty.
Prosecutors said a cell phone video shows Jones sexually assaulting an 18-year-old student who was so drunk that she'd fallen unconscious at a party in April. According to the criminal complaint, after he was finished having sex with the woman, Jones then asked a friend if he wanted "a hit."
"It was pretty disgusting," said Hennepin County attorney Michael Freeman.
Other Charges Pending
Three other football players who attended the party were arrested and questioned in April in connection with the assault. They were released without being charged, but Freeman said they are still considered suspects in the case. All four players have been suspended from the football team.
The alleged assault took place at a party at the University Village apartment of several football players.
Robert McField, a former Minnesota football player, invited the victim to a party at his house. McField, identified in court records as R.M., then allegedly challenged the victim to a drinking contest.
She drank eight shots of vodka that night, court papers say. Her blood alcohol level was estimated by Dr. Stephen Smith — identified in court records as an expert on alcohol-facilitated sexual assault — at .30, which, according to court records, would have rendered her unconscious.
The complaint said three other players, identified as A.D., E.J. and K.M., all took turns having sex with the woman before she passed out, but while she was still very drunk. Alex Daniels, E.J. Jones and Keith Massey were arrested and questioned in April in connection with the alleged assault but have not been charged.
Attorneys for the three players said their clients had not broken the law and said they did not expect their clients to be charged. Freeman said the three remain suspects in the case.
After the victim passed out, Jones took her to a bedroom and had sex with her while Daniels filmed part of the interaction with a cell phone, according to court documents.
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