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Prosecutor: No crime in alleged sexual assault

October 3, 2010

Records released during the weekend indicate differences between the statements of an alleged suspect and victim in an alleged on-campus sexual assault that the county prosecutor said he “believes” involved members of the MSU men’s basketball team.

In a statement released with the transcripts of interviews of alleged suspects and witnesses and a police report, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said the statements do not corroborate, and prosecutors determined no crime had been committed after reviewing the statements, evidence and other materials.

On Friday, Dunnings released a police report with redacted names and a transcript of an interview between one of the alleged suspects and the MSU police. Later in the weekend, he also released a redacted interview between the MSU police and the complainant.

Last week, Dunnings told The State News he “believes” members of the MSU men’s basketball team were connected to the incident, which reportedly occurred between Aug. 29 and Aug. 30.

“Based on our review of all the materials … our office reached the conclusion that no crime had been committed,” Dunnings said in the statement. “We therefore made the decision to decline to bring charges against the two men.”

Dunnings also said in the statement the office has “handled the case regardless of status and shown neither favor nor prejudice to any person.” Despite numerous media reports indicating one of the men corroborated a story, Dunnings said in the statement that the alleged suspect’s account of the alleged sexual assault does not match that of the complainant’s. Several factors in the police interviews differ. In the complainant’s interview, for instance, she states she asked the men to “stop,” while the alleged suspect states in his interview she only said, “I’m done,” and never directly used the word “stop.”

Both the complainant and the alleged suspect mentioned the physical size of the alleged suspects during the interviews.

The complainant said she felt she was not allowed to leave because of the physical stature of the men and their position between her and the doorway. The alleged suspect said he saw how the woman could feel like she would not be allowed to leave, although he also said she could have left whenever she wanted.

The alleged suspect and complainant both stated in their interviews with police that the alleged suspects asked the complainant if she was OK before she left the room, and both suspects apologized to the complainant. After leaving the room, the complainant had a friend take her to Lansing’s Sparrow Hospital, where she was examined by a sexual assault nurse examiner who prescribed antibiotics but did not administer a physical emergency medical treatment, according to the police report.

The complainant was told no charges would be pressed and explained the rationale for the decision and told she could meet with prosecutors to further discuss the matter, the statement said. On Sunday, Dunnings declined to comment beyond Friday’s press release.

Before Dunnings released the statement and further records Friday, more than a dozen people gathered outside the prosecutor’s office with signs encouraging cars to honk if they were against rape.

“It is a hard, emotional topic to talk about,” said Elizabeth Battiste, a communication junior and president of MSU Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Team. “We just want to see open and honest conversation.”

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