Ex-Gopher sentenced to year in workhouse

Former University of Minnesota football player Dominic Jones won't go to prison for sexual assault, but he'll serve a year in the workhouse and have to register as a sexual offender. And a four-year prison term still hangs over his head in this case if he breaks the law again.

That was the sentence Hennepin County District Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum handed down Thursday for Jones, convicted last month of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for an incident caught in a 37-second cell-phone video.

The 45-minute sentencing and aftermath showed two young lives once full of promise gone off-track since the assault in the early hours of April 4, 2007. The victim said in court that she has attempted suicide multiple times, dropped out of college and some days struggles to eat and get out of bed. Jones was kicked out of the University of Minnesota after his conviction and does not have a job.

Addressing reporters after the sentencing, County Attorney Mike Freeman criticized the "sense of entitlement" athletes have toward young women. Jones' attorney, Earl Gray, called those remarks "disgusting."

He said Freeman was using the case as a "political platform" and said he plans to appeal.

The case has been emotional and difficult for many involved since jury selection began in March. Jones was a star on the football team when charged with rape last summer. He was acquitted of that more serious offense but convicted of unwanted sexual contact.

The incident started with former players Robert McField and E.J. Jones driving to St. Paul to pick up Laquisha Malone, a woman McField met on Facebook. Malone wanted her friend, the victim, to come along, so they went to the College of St. Catherine to pick her up.

The four went back to the apartment McField and E.J. Jones shared with Alex Daniels and Keith Massey. Dominic Jones, not related to E.J. Jones, lived a floor below.

The victim got into a vodka shot-drinking contest with McField. She said she remembered nothing of the attack by Dominic Jones. She said she awoke the next morning with a white substance on her face, washed it off, went home and then to work.

"I drank myself into helplessness," she said of that night. "But I did not ask to be raped."

The star witness

Jones said he did not have sex with the woman except for masturbating over her, which he testified was consensual. No one else was charged in the case. The cell phone video, taken from Daniels' phone, was the star witness at trial.

The victim's appearance at sentencing was her first since she testified. She read her handwritten statement firmly, breaking down only a little at the end as she said she planned to work with victims of sexual assault.

"From here on out, I fully intend to grow flowers from where this dirt used to be," she said.

She spoke of the humiliation she felt when law officers she didn't know told her about the attack long after it occurred. The sight of a University of Minnesota jersey can send her into an emotional hole, the woman said. "Yes, I have been sexually assaulted, and no, I will never get over it," she said. "I don't feel there is any punishment great enough for my personal damage."

When it was his turn to talk, Jones apologized "first and foremost" to his family, friends and "anyone who was affected negatively in this situation." He said he hopes to learn from the situation and wants other students and athletes to see him as an example of what can happen.

Rosenbaum said she is not convinced Jones understands the gravity of his act. She received letters of support about him from teachers, family and coaches.

The judge said she found it hard to believe someone with so much promise "could commit the criminal act you did."

"You were so respected, yet you acted in a way that showed such lack of respect."

She, too, spoke of a "culture of entitlement" that led to a "perverse environment" for gifted athletes.

She issued the four-year prison sentence, but it will be stayed provided Jones complies with terms of his probation.

"I believe you are amenable to probation, and I hope you are successful on probation," she said.

Rosenbaum also said she believes the jury verdict will stand, given the "vivid, uncontradicted evidence in the video."

Jones did not speak with reporters after court, nor did the victim. Although Freeman's office wanted prison time, he said he is satisfied because "what I wanted to make sure is Dominic Jones spends time behind bars, and that's what he's going to do."

Gray said he intends to ask for a new trial on several issues, including allowance of testimony from an alcohol-consumption expert for the prosecution and prohibition of evidence the woman had consensual sex with three other players earlier in the evening.

"Except for this night and the 37 seconds, he has led an exemplary life," Gray said.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747