http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060222/...my_rape_charge
Naval Academy Charges Quarterback With Rape
By TOM STUCKEY, Associated Press Writer
34 minutes ago
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - In another embarrassment for one of the nation's service academies, Navy quarterback Lamar Owens has been charged with raping a female midshipman in her dormitory room.
Owens, a 22-year-old senior from Savannah, Ga., was charged under the military code of justice because the alleged attack took place on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy, academy spokesman Cmdr. Rod Gibbons said Wednesday.
"He remains assigned to the Naval Academy and will continue to attend class, performing other duties normally assigned to midshipmen pending results of the investigation," Gibbons said. He said the academy took steps to prevent contact between Owens and the woman.
Investigators said Owens attacked the woman last month after entering her room in Bancroft Hall without her consent.
Gibbons said the academy was offering counseling to the woman, whose name was not released by the school. Owens was not made available for comment.
An Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury inquiry, will be held to determine if there is sufficient evidence to go ahead with a court-martial. The investigation is being handled by the Naval Criminal Investigation Service.
Owens guided Navy's football team to an 8-4 season record that included victories over Air Force and Army and a victory in the Poinsettia Bowl over Colorado State.
The military academies have been under close scrutiny since 2003, when women at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado began coming forward with accusations that they had been sexually assaulted by fellow cadets and were ignored or ostracized by commanders when they spoke out.
A Pentagon task force found that hostile attitudes and inappropriate treatment of women also persisted at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and at the Naval Academy.
The Naval Academy has had a series of sexual harassment and assault cases in recent years. In 2001, three former football players agreed to withdraw from the academy after being charged with rape. Two years later, a midshipman was expelled for inappropriate sexual contact with two women classmates.
The academy's superintendent, Vice Adm. Rodney Rempt has taken a strong stand against sexual harassment and discrimination. He went so far as to remove the words "sailor men" from the school fight song. It was Rempt who made the decision to file charges against Owens.
Earlier this month, a senior at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., was charged with sexually assaulting six female cadets in the barracks and other sites. Webster M. Smith, 22, a linebacker on the football team, was charged under military law with rape and other offenses and has denied any wrongdoing.