Former Michigan State football players' lawyers can visit site of reported sex assault
Matt MencariniEAST LANSING - Attorneys for three former MSU football players charged with sexual assault will be able to visit the apartment where police say the incident happened prior to a key hearing next week.
Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance each face sexual assault charges stemming from an incident during a party at a campus apartment in January.
Michigan State University Police believe King invited the reported victim to "speak somewhere quiet," then "pulled" her into a bathroom and forced her to perform oral and vaginal sex, according to testimony from a hearing that led to charges. Corley and Vance are each accused of later forcing her to perform oral sex.
Police also allege that King recorded himself having sex with the woman.
Mary Chartier, Vance's attorney, filed a motion seeking access to the apartment. Prosecutors didn't oppose the motion.
A preliminary hearing, which will determine if there's enough evidence for the cases to proceed to trial, is set for next week.
King, 19, of Darien, Illinois, is charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as with capturing an image of an unclothed person. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Corley, 19, and Vance, 20, both of Detroit, are charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. They each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The former players, who had been suspended from the team during the police investigation, were dismissed from the football team after they were charged. They were also dismissed from MSU following university Title IX investigations.
Related:
- Former MSU football players Josh King, Donnie Corley arraigned in East Lansing
- Couch: MSU football sexual assault cases put Dantonio on hot seat
- At MSU: Assault, harassment and secrecy
Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini.