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| Monday, June 10 Woman testifies on first day of preliminary hearing Associated Press |
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ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The woman who has accused Oakland Raiders defensive tackle Darrell Russell of videotaping her being raped by two of his friends testified Monday that she blacked out after Russell mixed her a drink, and vaguely remembers later looking up at a video camera with "somebody on top of me.''
The 28-year-old woman, who said she was dating Russell at the time of the alleged rape, testified on the first day of a preliminary hearing in Alameda County Court. Russell, a former No. 2 overall selection in the NFL draft, is charged with 25 felonies as an accomplice in the alleged attack.
The woman, sometimes tearful and always guarded, said Russell called her and they arranged to meet at a San Francisco club the night of Jan. 31. She testified she had been at the club for about an hour, and had consumed two complimentary cocktails -- a Hurricane and a Long Island ice tea -- when she spotted Russell with friends at a table.
She said she was not feeling tipsy until Russell took a bottle of alcohol from the table and mixed her a "pinkish ... fruity'' drink.
Prosecutors have said they have evidence Russell drugged the woman.
"I did not watch his every move of making the drink, but I know he did make the drink,'' she testified. "I don't recall anything much after that.''
Until, she said, the following afternoon, when after waking up from a nap at work she had "a vision'' of someone videotaping her.
''The red light, the camera, and somebody on top of me,'' she said.
Police said they seized a videotape of the incident during a search of the Alameda house where Russell's teammate, safety Eric Johnson, lived. In court Monday, the woman also said she plans to file a civil suit against Russell.
Russell's lawyer, Cristina C. Arguedas, characterized the woman as a groupie out for money.
"They go clubbing, they drink, they have sex,'' Arguedas said.
During questions from Arguedas, the woman recounted her relationship with Russell -- about six dates and three consensual sexual encounters since September 2001. She also said she had blacked out once before the alleged assault on a night she saw Russell.
Arguedas suggested a fear of shaming from her "straight-laced'' friends led the woman to concoct a tale of victimhood.
"You had two choices,'' Arguedas said. "You can say to the girls, 'I had sex with two guys and my boyfriend videotaped it.' Or you can say, 'He drugged me.'''
"Everybody in the whole world knows there's girls with good reputations and girls with bad reputations," Arguedas said. "You don't want to be one of the bad ones.''
Arguedas also argued it was reasonable for Russell to think the woman was consenting when his two friends had sex with her.
As the woman acknowledged in court Monday, one night about two weeks before the alleged rape, she had been drinking and had sex separately with Russell and Johnson.
Russell, 26, is a two-time Pro Bowl selection who is serving a one-year NFL suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy. He has been free since posting bail Feb. 7.
Under California law, Russell could be found guilty of crimes committed by either of his two friends if he did not intervene. He had no comment Monday.
Naeem Perry, 25, of Berkeley, and Ali Hayes, 27, of Oakland, also are charged in the alleged assault. Their lawyers had no comment either. |
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