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A rarely convened state grand jury indicted four former Brigham Young University football players Thursday in connection with the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in August.
Utah County prosecutors also filed charges against two other former players involved in the incident, which allegedly occurred at the off-campus apartment of two of the suspects.
The grand-jury indictment charges B.J. Mathis, William Turner Jr., Karland Bennett and Ibrahim Rashada with two counts of aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony; one count of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and one count of dealing harmful material to a minor, a third-degree felony.
The former Brigham Young University student-athletes were also charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, a class B misdemeanor.
If convicted of the sex charges, the four men could face sentences of five years to life in prison.
Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson also filed criminal charges against Antwaun Harris, accusing him of making false material statements, a second-degree felony, and against Billy Skinner for allegedly dealing harmful material to a minor, a third-degree felony.
Harris, a wide receiver, and Skinner, a defensive back, are expected to be in court Dec. 21 for an initial appearance.
Skinner's stepfather, Larry Machen, said Skinner is innocent. "The honor code investigation cleared him. Why he is being pursued, I don't understand. We sent them a good kid with no problems. Now all of a sudden, he has problems running out his ears."
The suspects are accused of being part of a group of freshman football players who allegedly met the 17-year-old and her cousin at a Provo mall on Aug. 8, inviting them to the apartment of Mathis and Bennett late that night.
The men goaded the girls into drinking vodka shots and then started watching a pornographic DVD, according to court documents. The 17-year-old felt sick and one of the men placed her in a bedroom. She told Provo police she passed out and woke up later to find one of the men having sex with her.
She said the attack also involved other men and continued for 20 minutes until she was able to push one of the attackers off and run to a bathroom, court documents state.
The girl's cousin was not at the apartment during the alleged attack. Earlier in the night, she went to the home of another man. Two of the alleged attackers, who called themselves "KB" and "BJ", presumably Bennett and Mathis, took the girl to her cousin early Aug. 9. Later that day, the girl, her parents and her cousin called police.
The subsequent investigation stretched for almost four months as investigators and prosecutors awaited test results from the state crime lab and convened a grand jury.
Bryson said Friday he took the case to a secret grand jury to avoid forcing the alleged victim to testify in preliminary hearings. Unlike charges filed by prosecutors, a grand-jury indictment goes directly to a trial judge.
"We have a fragile victim," Bryson said.
The 17-year-old's parents released a statement Friday applauding the indictment, thanking BYU, police and prosecutors and supporting their daughter.
"Our daughter's goal in reporting this crime was simply to prevent it from happening to anyone else," the statement reads. "We are proud of her determination to step forward and endure public scrutiny in [the] face of this traumatic situation."
Rashada, a defensive back from Augusta, Ga., was arrested Friday and is being held at the Utah County Jail on $100,000 cash-only bail. Bryson believes Bennett, a defensive back from Dallas, and Mathis, a wide receiver from Dallas, are in Texas. Prosecutors notified Texas police, who are expected to serve the arrest warrants and start the extradition process. Turner, a linebacker from Daly City, Calif., who was 17 at the time of the alleged attack, will be prosecuted in juvenile court. He has agreed to surrender at a future time.
Citing a gag order in the case, Bryson refused to discuss the details of the investigation or the grand-jury process. He would not say if any other football players are under investigation.
BYU conducted its own Honor Code investigation, ultimately deciding to expel Mathis, Turner, Bennett and Rashada. Skinner and Harris can still attend class, said school spokeswoman Carrie Jenkins.
Theoretically, she said, all six could be reinstated to the football team, starting in the 2006 winter semester.
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Tribune reporters Lya Wodraska and Patrick Kinahan contributed to this story.