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| Wednesday, July 16 |
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| Michigan football players allowed to play despite rape charge By Jeff Goodman SchoolSports.com | |||
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Four Michigan high school football players charged with rape were allowed to return to the football field this past weekend. LaJuan Ewing, Jeffery Jackson and Lamar Toney, all 17-year-olds at River Rouge High in Detroit, Mich., and 16-year-old Justin Garrett, were not allowed to attend class or play football after being charged with gang raping a 14-year-old cheerleader on Oct. 9. But a judge ordered them back to regular classes, and the River Rouge School Board decided unanimously to let them return to the football team because of legalities. "There has been no verdict rendered," board president Lynn Tate told The Detroit Free Press. "It has to take its legal course. ... I'm not taking sides either way." The students, all starters on the team, missed two games before playing Friday night (Oct. 20). Jackson is the starting running back and linebacker on the squad, while Toney tossed a touchdown pass in Friday's 35-12 loss to Allen Park High. All four have pleaded innocent, and Wayne County Circuit Judge Cynthia Stephens ruled on Friday that they will return to regular classes. They have been attending alternative schooling classes on school property since the charges were filed. The judge said the school did not give the players' families a proper hearing before taking them out of regular classes. She also said keeping them out of school would cause them irreparable harm and deprive them of educational opportunities. The school board approved its ruling to allow the players to return to the gridiron shortly after the judge allowed the students to return to their regular classes. Charles Wycoff, a lawyer for the school district, said he isn't sure whether the school will take further action. A preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 10. If they are convicted, the students could face a sentence of up to life in prison. They are charged with multiple counts of rape because police say the youths helped each other rape the 14-year-old. The ninth-grade girl has left River Rouge and is being schooled at home.
Material from SchoolSports.com.Visit their web site at www.schoolsports.com | |
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