| | Associated Press
Star football recruit Jason Respert pleaded no contest to
trespassing and simple battery Thursday, without admitting he
fondled a woman in her apartment during a recruiting trip to the
University of Florida.
Respert, 18, an offensive lineman at Northside High School in
Warner Robins, Ga., was placed on two years' supervised probation
for the misdemeanor pleas after appearing in Circuit Court in
Gainesville.
He will serve 40 hours of community service. He also agreed to
be interviewed to determine whether he needs counseling.
After the Jan. 29 incident, the universities of Georgia and
Florida rescinded their scholarship offers. Tennessee reportedly
still plans to offer him a scholarship.
"Hopefully, we'll know next week," said Respert's attorney,
Virgil Adams. "He has applied for school there. The application is
being processed."
Prosecutor Bill Cervone said the plea agreement was typical for
a first-time offender.
"The probation gives him a chance to prove it was an isolated
incident, as opposed to a deep-seeded problem," Cervone said.
"Now, what happens between him and Tennessee is between him and
them."
A police report said Respert, a Florida player and another
recruit wound up at the woman's Gainesville apartment early on the
morning of Jan. 29.
According to the report, Respert went into the woman's bedroom,
pulled down the covers, pulled up her pajama top and put his hand
down her pajama bottoms. He left the room when the woman woke up
and called police.
He was charged with attempted sexual battery and burglary,
charges that could have brought up to 30 years in prison.
Prosecutors agreed to a plea in part because of the various
testimonials they received about Respert's character, his ties to
the community and his success in the classroom.
"I think everyone saw that this was a mistake by a young man,"
Adams said. "They considered everything in his background, the
volunteer work he's done, the fact he graduated with honors."
Respert graduated in the top 10 percent of his class with a 3.6
grade-point average.
He made his court appearance flanked by his high school football
coach, Conrad Nix, and several other friends and family.
Another part of the plea gives him permission to return to
Gainesville "for proper purpose only," which means he could come
back for the Tennessee-Florida game in 2001, Adams said.
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