B.J. Mathis no longer investigated in alleged rape in Texas

Updated: October 18, 2005, 10:14 PM ET
Associated Press

PROVO, Utah -- Former Brigham Young University football player B.J. Mathis, who was acquitted in a Provo court last month of rape, also has been eliminated as a suspect in an alleged sexual assault in Texas, Utah County prosecutors said.

Mathis had been investigated in the alleged rape of a woman earlier this year at her apartment in Garland, Texas.

Utah County prosecutors had sought to introduce testimony that appeared to link Mathis to two alleged sexual assaults in the Dallas area, but neither case was mentioned in the Provo trial.

The Utah prosecutors had said Mathis was suspected to have played a role in the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in Richardson, Texas. That incident allegedly occurred during a party he attended his senior year of high school. However, Richardson Police Sgt. Kevin Perlich said Mathis was never a suspect.

Mathis was investigated by police in Garland, Texas, after his dog tags were found in the apartment of the woman who was assaulted. Semen also was taken from the bed.

Utah County prosecutors say a DNA test of the semen does not implicate Mathis.

Mathis says someone must have planted his dog tags in the apartment.

Four BYU players were accused of raping a then 17-year-old Sandy girl at a player's off-campus apartment in August 2004. Two pleaded guilty to reduced charges and Mathis and Ibrahim Rashada were acquitted of all charges.

The players, who all left the university, contended the sexual activities were consensual.

The girl said she passed out after drinking vodka and woke up to find herself being raped.

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Information from: Deseret Morning News, http://www.deseretnews.com


Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press

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