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Ex-Gopher, Convicted Felon Linked To Rape Case

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Ex-Gopher, Convicted Felon Linked To Rape Case

Criminal Complaint Against Jones (PDF)

by Esme Murphy
Minneapolis (WCCO) ― Prosecutors call it rape at a drunken party which was caught on cell phone video. They have charged University of Minnesota cornerback Dominic Jones with third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

However, WCCO-TV has confirmed that another U of M football player who'd been kicked off the team actually organized the party.

Robert McField had been convicted of two armed robberies but was somehow still living in campus housing the night of the attack.

On Monday, Jones was charged with sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

The woman's blood-alcohol level was estimated at least 0.30 percent by a doctor who reviewed police reports and witness statements, according to the criminal complaint. Stephen Smith, the doctor, based his estimate on her size and weight and descriptions of the amount of alcohol consumed.

A friend of Jones had taken a video of part of the assault on his cell phone at the apartment that night. The file was deleted, but forensic experts examining the phone were able to recover a portion of the deleted file. The female in the video was unresponsive and was identified as the victim. The male in the video was identified as Jones.

Prosecutors said Jones was involved in an incident at the University Village apartments late on the night of April 3 or early April 4. On April 6, a woman told police she was raped in the University Village complex.

The woman was taken to a local hospital and evidence was collected.

"It's amazing what the forensics can do to reconstruct that. That cell phone video ... A picture is worth 1,000 words, and that video reflects what happened, at least at that point in time," said Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. "The charges represent a significant next step in this case. The charge is a serious one."

Freeman stressed that three other players -- Alex Daniels, E.J. Jones and Keith Massey, Jones' half-brother -- are still suspects in this case months after being arrested and then released.

"No charges will be filed against those individuals today," Freeman said. "We're going to take this case one step at a time. Each of them remains suspects and we're going to continue to review each of the cases."

WCCO-TV uncovered the role of a former player, Robert McField, named only as "R.M." in the criminal complaint. He is the one who brought the victim and her friend to his apartment in University Village, and court documents claim it was McField who gave the victim eight shot glasses of straight vodka.

However, the question is why was McField still living in University housing? The month before the party, he had pleaded guilty to two felony counts of armed robbery in Missouri.

The U of M had known for months about the allegations, and he had actually been kicked off the football team in October because of them. It was not until several weeks after the party that McField was finally kicked out of school as well.

The University of Minnesota's attorney Mark Rotenberg said, "There was a period of time between when this student plead guilty to the crimes and the date to which we got him out of the University. That time lag was unfortunate."

McField is already doing time in prison for robbery.

Jones, a junior, is a strong safety from Columbus, Ohio. He has been called one of the Gophers' best defensive players. He's started 20 straight games over the last two seasons and gained the reputation of a fiery competitor with a knack for making big hits despite being just 5 feet 8.

Jones is scheduled to be in court Tuesday morning and will have prominent defense attorney Earl Grey defending him.

All four players being named in the case have been suspended from the football team.

Daniels' attorney, Mike Colich, declined to comment on the allegation that Daniels took the video, but said Daniels "absolutely" denies any wrongdoing. Colich also expressed frustration at the pace of the investigation.

"At this point I think I'm frustrated that the county attorney is indicating they haven't made a decision on whether they're going to charge him," Colich said. "(Daniels) is waiting to get his life back and get back to football. ... How many weeks and months has it been that they've had to investigate?"

E.J. Jones' attorney said Monday's news was more of a relief, despite Freeman's claims that his client is still a suspect.

"E.J. clearly went to bed early on in this situation so we're confident he's not going to get charged," attorney Jeff DeGree said. "We're confident he'll be back on the football field in the fall. ... (Freeman) has had three or four months to investigate this and we've always felt that E.J. wasn't going to get charged. That didn't happen today and I don't think it's going to happen in the future."

(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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