Georgia Tech Assistant Tennis Coach Facing Rape Charges

The man was arrested on March 24th and charged with rape as well as cocaine and marijuana possession after he allegedly had intercourse with a woman while she was asleep in his apartment.  He was released after posting bond on April 4th.

His lawyer told the AJC that he was “absolutely not guilty” of any of the charges although he does admit that the woman came back with him to his apartment.  His attorney is calling on the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to dismiss the case prior to indictment.

The man allegedly met two women at a Buckhead bar and later invited both back to his apartment.  One of the women, 23, alleges that she woke up at the apartment early the next morning while he was having intercourse with her.  According to her, she told him to stop and then she and the other female left the apartment.

The assistant coach is a former collegiate tennis star at Texas A&M where he was a three-time All-American and team captain.  He competed briefly on the men’s professional tour before starting an elite junior tennis program in Austin, Texas.  He joined the Georgia Tech coaching staff in August 2011 but had been placed on administrative leave by the university pending an investigation into the allegations.  He resigned on April 4th so that he could focus on his defense.

Fortunately, the Fulton County District Attorney’s office has been much more willing lately to fully investigate allegations like this before seeking an indictment.  As criminal defense attorneys who specialize in sex offense allegations, we have handled a number of cases with very similar facts.  In most of these cases, we have been successful in keeping our clients from indictment and, in some instances, have even kept them from being arrested at all.

The defense will likely be that there was intercourse but that it was consensual.  Very often, when alcohol or drugs are involved, a woman may believe she was raped as she will not be able to recall all of the details of what actually took place.  It will be crucial if the defense can locate witnesses from the bar who were able to observe how the woman interacted with him prior to leaving the bar.  The defense will want to gather as much evidence as possible to prove that the man reasonably believed that the woman had consented to any sexual intercourse that took place.