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Jazz player charged with statutory rape
Updated: Wednesday June 20, 2001 1:08 AM
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Utah Jazz rookie DeShawn Stevenson has been charged with statutory rape for having sex with a 14-year-old girl, a prosecutor said Tuesday. Stevenson, a 6-foot-5 guard who went from high school directly to the NBA last year, was charged last week in Fresno Superior Court, chief deputy district attorney Liz Mitchell said. The 20-year-old Stevenson, a Fresno native who went to Washington Union H.S. in nearby Easton, faces up to three years in state prison if convicted. His whereabouts Tuesday were not immediately known. Officers from the State Department of Justice were at the Fresno-Yosemite International Airport on Tuesday evening. They said they expected Stevenson to fly in and were waiting to arrest him. A warrant was issued Monday for Stevenson's arrest, the Fresno County Sheriff's Department said. Stevenson is accused of having sex with the girl during a visit to Fresno in the past six weeks, Mitchell said. She didn't have any other details. "I didn't even know he played basketball," Mitchell said. "I have no idea what he was doing in Fresno." Neither the Jazz nor Stevenson's agent, Rob Pelinka, would comment Tuesday. Stevenson's lawyer, Richard Berman, did not immediately return several messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. Stevenson played in 40 games for the Jazz as a rookie, averaging 2.2 points and 0.7 rebounds. He was placed on the injured list March 2 with tendinitis in his right knee and was reactivated April 11. This is the second time Stevenson has run into legal troubles since he was drafted in the first round by Utah last year, the 23rd pick overall. On the night he was drafted, Stevenson was involved in a brawl at a high school all-star basketball game in neighboring Clovis. Stevenson, who did not play in the June 28 game, said he was jumped by five men after signing autographs. He pleaded innocent to charges of fighting in a public place.
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