Guilty plea withdrawal sought in rape case

PROVO — A judge will rule by the end of the week whether or not a former Brigham Young University football player can withdraw his guilty plea in a criminal sexual assault case.

Karland Bennett, 20, agreed last summer to plead guilty to two felony charges of dealing in harmful material to a minor and obstructing justice if other charges of a sexual nature were dropped in regard to his alleged role in an August 2004 rape of a 17-year-old girl.

The plea deal was a result of conversations between the Utah County Attorney's office, in which Bennett's attorney, Greg Skordas, said Bennett was promised that if he testified against his former teammates at trial, his sentence would be no harsher than theirs.

Ibrahim Rashada and B.J. Mathis were acquitted of all charges by a jury in September. After the jury's decision, Skordas filed a motion requesting that Bennett be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Donna Kelly said she is opposed to the plea withdrawal and said there was no specific agreement as to potential sentences.

Both sides have submitted briefs related to Bennett's request and 4th District Judge Samuel McVey told the attorneys on Tuesday afternoon that he would issue a written ruling within the next few days.