So maybe Venoy Overton didn't commit that sexual assault...

I think we all owe Venoy Overton an apology.

If you remember, back in January, news broke that a member of the Washington basketball team was being accused of sexual assault by a 16 year old girl he met on Facebook. Eventually, the news leaked that the anonymous basketball player was then-23 year old Overton.

But nothing ever came of the sexual assault charge. In March, Overton was charged with providing alcohol to a minor and suspended for the Pac-10 Tournament before returning to the team for the NCAA Tournament.


At the time, it appeared as if this was just another example of a prominent athlete living above the law. That, however, may not actually be the case. The Seattle Weekly obtained the police report from the incident and it paints a very different picture. I'm not going to get into the graphic details -- you can read the entire 227 page police report here, as well as a terrific summary of the events -- but based on the interviews with Overton, the other man in the room, the accuser, and the accuser's friend, it appears as if the sexual acts that occurred were consensual. And while its a bit unsettling that the 23 year old Overton would get involved with a 16 year old girl, 16 is the age of consent in Washington.

The issue when prosecuting sexual assault cases is that too often it becomes a case of he-said, she-said. Do you believe the accuser or the man being accused? Do you think the act was consensual or forced? I, like many of the other folks around the country, immediately believed that Overton was guilty. That he seduced, took advantage of, and sexually assaulted a 16 year old girl.

But after reading that police report, I'm not sure. It doesn't sound like Overton deserves to be called a rapist. If we've learned anything from this encounter, its that we should wait until all of the facts are on the table we take shots at a person being accused of such a crime.

There are plenty of men out there that commit sexual assaults, but there are also women out there that are spiteful, bitter, and looking for revenge or ashamed of what they participated and are trying to pin the blame elsewhere. Every time news breaks that someone was falsely accused of sexual assault, it makes it all the more difficult to believe the next allegation.

That is completely unfair to the men and women that are actually dealing with being assaulted.

Complaints are rightfully made when the police cannot or will not charge a person with sexual assault, even when it appears that an assault occurred, because of their fear of being unable to convict on the charge.

And its because of cases like the one involving Overton that police can be hesitant to charge the accused of a crime.