Spring Break
Elam convicted of sexual battery
Former football player found not guilty of two more serious charges; sentencing Oct. 7
Scott Brodfuehrer and Meghanne Downes
Issue date: 9/1/03 Section: News
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Judge Roland Chamblee scheduled a sentencing hearing for Oct. 7 after Elam completes a required interview with the probation department.
Mark Lenyo, Elam's attorney, said he was disappointed on the conviction for sexual battery but happy with the overall ruling.
"We are pleased the jury found Mr. Elam not guilty on the two more serious charges. It indicates the jury didn't believe everything the accuser had stated that [occurred] that evening," said Mark Lenyo, Elam's attorney.
Elam was charged following a March 28, 2002 incident at teammate Justin Smith's off-campus house that also involved former players Lorenzo Crawford and Donald Dykes. All three will go on trial later this year; Dykes' trial is the next to begin, on Sept. 8.
Special prosecutor Maureen Devlin said that while she was disappointed Elam was not convicted on all counts, the jury's conviction of him vindicated the accuser and proved her story.
"We think the evidence did show he was guilty of [all of the] counts, but we had 12 people from the community who heard the evidence, listened to it very carefully, deliberated for a long time, and we got I think the right verdict based on that," Devlin said.
Devlin, who will also be prosecuting the cases of the other accused former players, declined to comment on how this ruling would effect those trials.
Following the jury's verdict, Lenyo said he was uncertain whether he would ask Chamblee to reduce the Class-D felony sexual battery charge to a Class-A misdemeanor.
If the judge sentences Elam under the felony charge, he could receive a jail term of up to three years and a fine of up to $10,000. Should the charge be reduced to a misdemeanor, the maximum sentence is one year in prison or a $5,000 fine.
The jury heard over 60 hours of testimony during the trial, in which attorneys each depicted the essential events of the night as being either gang rape or consensual group sex.