Venoy Overton is an actual pimp ... SMDH?

How about this for a head scratcher.

Venoy Overton, who graduated on Saturday from the University of Washington with a degree in American Ethnic studies, is currently sitting in a jail cell in Kent Corrections Center outside Seattle after being arrested for a second degree Promoting Prostition charge. Promiting Prostitution is defined by the Washington State Legislature as profiting off of or advancing prostitution, with the second degree charge being a Class C felony punishable up to five years in prison.

In other words, Venoy Overton was arrested for being a pimp. Not a pimp in the high school sense of the word, making out with all of the popular girls. He was allegedly dropping girls off on the street and forcing them to perform sex acts for money:

In May, Kent Police contacted an 18-year-old woman on Pacific Highway South for prostitution, detectives said. She told them she was there because her boyfriend dropped her off and told her to perform sex acts for money. She said he had dropped her off there twice before, and said her boyfriend was Venoy Overton.

Detectives said the woman continued, telling them she had specific instructions on how much to charge, and what acts to perform. She said she gave some of the money she earned to Overton.

Come on, dude.

I mean, really?

You just graduated! You are still dealing with the accusations from back in January that you raped two 16 year old girls! If you have forgotten, Overton was never charged with rape, instead he plead out to a charge of supplying alcohol to minors; a charge he wouldn't have had to face if he was able to keep himself out of trouble for a year.

And now this.

I wonder if it is too late for the prosecutor's to hit him with that rape charge again.

UPDATE: Lorenzo Romar has released a statement on Overton: "I have been informed of the arrest of Venoy Overton and I am extremely disappointed. My staff and I spent an extraordinary amount of time and energy attempting to mentor Venoy prior to his recent graduation, so this news is especially troubling."
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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.
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UPDATED (with Romar's quotes): Venoy Overton suspended for providing alcohol to a minor

The worst kept secret in the world is no longer a secret.

Venoy Overton, a senior and starting point guard on the Washington basketball team, has been suspended for the Pac-10 tournament because he is facing a charge that he provided alcohol to a minor.

The charge stems from an incident two months ago where a sixteen year old girl accused a player on the Washington basketball team of sexual assault.

He will be available for the NCAA Tournament, should Washington make it. The Huskies aren't safe, either. If Washington loses to Washington State in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament -- which would mean they lost three games to Wazzu -- and a couple of bubble teams get hot in the conference tournaments, the Huskies could very well get left out of the dance.

Romar's quotes after the jump:

"I just was made aware of the charge against Venoy Overton and, as a result of that charge, Venoy will not be participating in the Pac-10 tournament. It’s something that, I’ve said all along, we take very seriously. There have been some internal dealings with Venoy that I won’t go into, because it’s family stuff, but, I did not want to outwardly discipline twice. I wanted to wait for this process to take its course. It was my intention all along that if something were to happen, further action would be taken from the action that’s already been taken internally."

"Sometimes there’s an outcry by the public that ‘Something needs to be done’. As far as I’m concerned, behavior needs to change and we have to learn from our mistakes. Mistakes are going to be made but every situation is different. I don’t think you handle every situation the same way sometimes. It’s important from here on out that we learn from this and go from here."

"Venoy was starting to play his best basketball. He was not in the shape to do the things we’ve all grown accustomed to watching him do on the floor. Scott Suggs was playing good basketball when he was injured, C.J. (Wilcox) was injured and this has happened with Venoy (Overton). It always takes away from your team."

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