Ex-Y. players not guilty of charges

PROVO — There were hugs and tears of joy in the courtroom after an eight-member jury acquitted two former Brigham Young University football players of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl last summer.

"I've never felt prouder to be a lawyer," said Jere Reneer, who was the defense attorney for ex-Y. gridder B.J. Mathis. "Not right until this moment."

As the court clerk read the words "not guilty," Mathis leaned his head on Reneer's arm and the two embraced.

The jury returned not-guilty verdicts on all charges against Mathis and former teammate Ibrahim Rashada — two felony counts of aggravated sexual assault, furnishing alcohol to a minor and obstruction of justice.

Former Y. athletes William Turner Jr., Karland Bennett and Billy Skinner were also charged in connection with the case. Turner and Skinner were tried as juveniles in exchange for their testimony. Bennett pleaded guilty to providing harmful material to a minor and obstructing justice and testified at trial against his teammates. In return for his testimony, all sexually related charges against him were dropped.

During the six-day trial, the defense team argued that the sexual activities between the teenage girl and the men were not forced.

The accuser, now 18, said she was raped by a group of men at the apartment after passing out in a bedroom. She said the players gave her vodka and showed her a pornographic DVD before she became sick and went into the bedroom to rest.

Defense attorneys also argued that because the girl could not remember exactly how much alcohol she had consumed that night, the state's insistence that she was completely drunk — and thus an easier victim — could not be substantiated.

"It was a close case from the beginning," said Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly. "We tried it as well as we could have. We have no regrets about how our office handled it."

Asked if there would be an appeal, she responded: "No, it's over."

The accuser's family provided a statement after the verdict.

"We are so very proud that (our daughter) made the decision to confront her rapists," they wrote. "It was a decision she did not make lightly. Her decision was right."

The letter also encouraged the community to continue to make decisions and laws that will protect both accusers and the accused.