Two Naval Academy football players charged with rape

July 3, 2000
Web posted at: 6:44 p.m. EDT (2244 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Two Naval Academy football players were arrested Monday and charged with rape for allegedly assaulting a female classmate as she lay unconscious at an off-campus drunken party Thursday night in a suburb of Annapolis.

The Navy football players, who are both 21 and have just completed their sophomore years, have been identified as 2nd Class midshipmen Cordrea "Dre" Brittingham, a running back from Berlin, Maryland, and Arion Keith "Bas" Williams a cornerback from Detroit, Michigan.

Both have been charged with one count of second-degree rape, and one count of second-degree sex offense, which generally involves nonconsensual sex without use of a weapon or physical threat.

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Williams has been also charged with an additional count of third-degree sexual offense, which is a non-consensual sex act.

According to the Anne Arundel County police, the 20-year-old female midshipman was at a private party in Arnold, Maryland, when she passed out in one of the bedrooms from heavy drinking.

She told police she awoke to find herself being assaulted by the two suspects. She says she pushed them away, and they left immediately.

According to one source familiar with the investigation, when the woman awoke, her underwear had been removed, and police believe she was unconscious during part of the attack.

Police say the woman went to a local hospital, where sources say physical evidence indicated she had been sexually assaulted.

One Pentagon official said the off-campus party in a private home in Arnold, Maryland on Thursday involved "a lot of alcohol," and another source said the alleged victim's blood alcohol level was so high when she was examined at the hospital, that it supports her claim that she was unconscious at the time.

Anne Arundel County Police said they responded to a call from the hospital at 2 a.m. Friday, where officials said they were treating a woman who reported she had been raped at a party. Police determined the party was attended by 11 people, some of whom were students at the Naval Academy.

According to spokesman Sgt. Joe Jordan, police narrowed the suspects down to two male academy students, Naval Academy spokesman Cmdr. Mike Brady said the midshipmen involved in the incident were at the Academy for summer school, and are not part of the freshman or "plebe" summer training, which began Friday.

Brady said late Monday, "Since this matter is still under investigation by state authorities, it would be inappropriate for the Naval Academy to discuss the allegations or details of this case."

Naval Academy rules prohibit student sex on campus, or with freshman, but upperclassmen are permitted to have consensual sex off campus.

Last year the Naval Academy expelled a midshipman who was accused of having sex in a dormitory in the summer of 1998.

Midshipman 1st Class Michael Pilson Jr. had been charged with rape, burglary and conduct unbecoming an officer.

A military judge dismissed all the criminal charges during a preliminary hearing in the fall of 1998, mainly because the alleged victim said she had been intoxicated and could not recall events.

But Pilson was expelled because he admitted to having sex in a dormitory, which is a "separable offense."

Pilson, who is African American, maintained that Midshipman Hannah Kessler initiated the contact, and argued he was treated unfairly because of his race.

Kessler, who is white, was allowed to graduate last year.

The academy has denied allegations of racism.

Last week's incident could also turn out to have racial overtones, since again the alleged victim is white, and the accused midshipmen are African Americans.

Past scandals at the U.S. Naval Academy include a cheating scandal in 1994, in which 24 midshipmen were expelled for cheating on an electrical engineering exam.

In 1998, star Navy quarterback Christopher McCoy admitted to having sex with a female freshman of "plebe" in an Annapolis hotel room.

This case stirred controversy because the female plebe, who was also accused of having sex with two other midshipmen on campus, was expelled but Midshipman McCoy was allowed to graduate.

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The United States Naval Academy
US Naval Criminal Investigative Service
U.S. Department of Defense
Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Office

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