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Back to playing football Avengers' Marinovich won't be charged with rape
Posted: Friday June 09, 2000 09:18 PM
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Avengers quarterback Todd Marinovich will not be charged with raping a woman who had the Arena Football League player arrested in April after an encounter during a party at his apartment, the district attorney's office said Friday. The prosecutor who reviewed the case found lack of evidence of forcible rape and noted there was evidence the woman consented to intercourse, had acted suggestively, had friends right outside the bedroom and had motivations to fabricate the story. Marinovich, scheduled to make his fourth start for the Avengers on Saturday, said he was grateful. "The system is designed to protect the innocent and that's exactly what it did," he said in a statement released by the team. "I especially want to thank the entire Avenger organization for sticking by me and believing in me." His father, Marv, said in a telephone interview that the allegation was unfathomable. "Because I'm his father, this is going to sound like it's slanted, but Todd is one of the most caring, sensitive individuals that I've ever run into," Marv Marinovich said. "I'm glad that it's out that he's not being charged, so everyone can see how ridiculous that was." The allegation followed an encounter in Marinovich's Marina del Rey apartment early on the morning of April 25. He was arrested later that day at practice. Deputy District Attorney Laura Jane Maglinger detailed in a document why she rejected charges. "The complainant was drinking," the prosecutor wrote. "After consensually entering Marinovich's bedroom and engaging in consensual kissing, the complainant alleged that Marinovich raped her. Marinovich was interviewed and denied ever forcing the victim to do anything. There is no evidence of force to prove a forcible rape." The prosecutor outlined why "the ambiguity of the complainant's behavior" gave Marinovich a plausible defense that he reasonably believed the woman was consenting. "The complainant behaved in ways not inconsistent with someone who consented to the intercourse," Maglinger wrote. "There was no call for help, even though she had dependable girlfriends right outside the door. The complainant said that Marinovich never threatened her or used force against her." The woman "has several motives to fabricate or exaggerate the situation" and Marinovich has witnesses who will say the woman "was openly flirting with Marinovich and engaging in sexually suggestive behavior and conversation," Maglinger stated. Marinovich was arrested shortly after joining the Avengers to revive his career. Free on bail, he remained active with the team during the investigation. Marinovich, slated to start against the Arizona Rattlers at Staples Center on Saturday, threw a 14-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds left in last week's 50-46 victory over the New England Sea Wolves, the first regular-season win for the Avengers' franchise. Marinovich was plagued during his college and NFL careers with drug problems. During two years at Southern California, he led the Trojans to a Rose Bowl championship but then left college to turn pro after being charged with drug possession. He was the Los Angeles Raiders' first-round draft pick in 1991, but the team released him before the 1993 season and he acknowledged that drug use was the main reason. In 1998 he served three months in jail after pleading guilty to growing marijuana.
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