Houston arrested for attempted rape

[FalconRA]

As an employee of another state school I can share that the University investigation had to occur before the official court date. With recent legislation and Title IX clarification the federal government has made it clear that in most instances schools should, receive a complaint, investigate a complaint and have a student conduct hearing all within a 60 business day window. There is some wiggle room depending on the circumstances of the students involved but with the parameters of the scenario the university had to act quickly.

Additionally, the burden of proof in a student conduct hearing is very different than in a legal court room. In a legal court room the burden is beyond reasonable doubt. Where as in a college student conduct office the burden is lesser and there simply needs be more evidence of guilt then innocence. Commonly refereed to as 51%to 49%. However, based on the sanction handed down, I do believe that the University likely had some very specific and damning evidence.

Sad to lose Houston as a football player for the many talents that he brought onto the field. However, glad that the university is doing the right thing based on the evidence that they had to hear the situation.

[HoopsFan]

Wow, pretty sad, but it's got to be a lesson that all athletes can learn. Keep your name out of the police blotter and conduct yourself by a higher standard that the regular student body.

It's a tough lesson for the player and I'd imagine alcohol played a part in the judgment of those involved.

HoopsFan

[Flipper]

Interesting article in the Blade about a case at UT....what is a "relatively clean criminal record"?

http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2014/ ... lties.html" target="_blank

So far as Houston goes...he had a great opportunity in front of him here that seems to have been squandered. Hopefully, once the criminal justice system has had their say he'll be in a position to correct his mistakes and lead a productive life

[Redwingtom]

The universtity conducted it's own investigation, as it well should have, but it seems a little odd to me that they went ahead and pulled the trigger on announcing a punishment before the criminal case is even heard. In checking the court docket, the criminal case looks to be in the very early stages and could drag on for quite some time, unless some type of plea gets reached, which of course, can be a common occurrence. I wonder what the university would say if the charges were dropped or he is ultimately found not guilty? That might put them in an uncomfortable position. They must have found something in their investigation that's pretty damming for them to move foward on the long suspension at this point.

Regardless of what happens from here, I would say the chances of him ever being back on the field in a BG uniform are about as slim as they could possibly be. Very unfortunate. A young man messed up his life and lost a great opportunity, who knows what the effects are on the alleged victim and the football team lost a guy who would have been a valuable contributor. We lined up on a 3rd and 1 near the goal line on Friday and didn't even come close to making it. I'm sure we all were lamenting the Houston situation at that point. I just wonder how many more times this year we are going to feel the effects of what happened with him.

As was pointed out in the other post, the university needed to do its investigation anyway. And they have a separate standard and they determined that he didn't follow the code of conduct so they acted. I take no issue with that whatsoever. And in fact, with all the news recently about sexual assaults being swept under the rug, I applaud them for their swift action.

[Warthog]

http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2015/ ... ntest.html" target="_blank

Houston pleaded no contest to gross sexual imposition.

[ilive4fri]

What is sad is that 1 in 5 girls are the victim of sexual assault at college. Most go unreported. Rape is extremely common on campuses but I think most people who have raped do not understand that they have committed rape because they have never been taught what constitutes rape. Most people understand rape is defined as using force or threat of force to compel a person to submit to sexual intercourse, however, it seems many people do not understand that having sexual intercourse with someone who is incapable of giving consent is also rape. Being drunk or high means you are incapable of giving consent. How many college students have had sex with someone for the first time while that person was drunk or high? They fit the definition of a rapist and if the victim reports, they will be convicted of rape, because they did in fact rape the victim. "Force" is also a term that most people associate with violence. Extreme begging (which is extremely common in both high school and college) is force. It doesn't matter how sweet and nice you ask, if you are asking over and over to convince a victim who has been saying, "No" repeatedly, you are using force.

[Flipper]

As the father of a 13 year old daughter, this topic is definitely on my radar. To clarify...IIRC, the one in five number is derived from a CDC survey that asks women if they were assaulted during their lifetime and the definition of assault was broadened to include sex while in an intoxicated state at a high enough level that consent was not possible. The results showed that 19%...or roughly 1 in 5 responded "yes"... but that was over this course of their entire lives, not just college.

This seems to leave a lot of room for interpretation because of the subjective nature of the question. When is intoxicated "too intoxicated". I would think there would need to be an established standard for that to initiate a disciplinary action ...even within a University. It would seem that this opens the door for the alleged rapists to assert a defense based on their own level of intoxication. If being drunk but conscious constitutes a lack of consent... can it also be argued that it can have an impact on intent or the ability to gauge a sexual partner's ability to provide consent? This doesn't even begin to address the issue of assumption of risk....

So far as BGSU goes...I think it boils down to the hope that people will educate their children about responsible use of alcohol, appropriate social behavior and most importantly respect for themselves and those around them before they arrive on Campus.

That and/or any little bastard that crosses my daughter gets invited to a boot party... no RSVP needed.

[Beaker]

My Westie dog continues to beg for table scraps, even though he is told "no" over and over. He looks at me with those sad eyes that are hard to resist and he just doesn't quit trying to get me to give in and hand him that last bite from my plate. I guess I'll have to threaten to report him to the dog warden for food rape and have him convicted if he doesn't change his ways. Bad dog!