Rape charges dropped against ex-Asheville Tourists players

ASHEVILLE — Buncombe District Attorney Todd Williams announced Monday he was dropping rape charges against two former Asheville Tourists players.

Asheville police charged the players — pitchers Michael Ryan Mason and Jesse Maxson Meaux, who were both 23 when they were charged — on Aug. 1, 2013, with two counts each of first-degree rape and first-degree sex offense.

In a statement issued Monday, Williams wrote, "The District Attorney's Office must often make hard choices. The Asheville Tourists cases were first charged in August of 2013. These cases were passed by the former administration to my office for review on January 1, 2015. Upon completion of my review of these cases, in my discretion, I have elected to dismiss the charges filed against the Asheville Tourists defendants. Out of respect for the privacy of all involved I cannot comment further."

Williams could not be reached for further comment on what led him to the decision.

The alleged offenses involved one woman and were reported to have happened in the early morning hours of July 27, 2013, at the players' apartment on Ascot Point Circle, according to a police incident report and arrest warrants.

Mason's attorney, Steve Lindsay of Asheville, said Monday he had "mixed emotions" about the dismissal of charges.

"I'm certainly glad the charges were dismissed," Lindsay said. "I'm also really saddened. There are real questions about whether these charges should have ever been brought against these men. These were young men who were trying to live out a dream. Both of them were hoping to make the big leagues."

Mason and Meaux, who both adamantly denied the allegations, are no longer playing baseball. Mason is living in Chicago "working a $10 an hour job trying to make ends meet," Lindsay said.

He said he would check with Mason about whether he wanted to speak with the media.

Meaux is living in California and does not want to speak with the media, said his attorney, Al Messer of Asheville.

"He's just grateful and relieved it's over," Messer said. "He just wants to move on with his life."

Lindsay said the players met the woman through a friend at a downtown Asheville nightclub one night during Bele Chere. Later that night, the three of them went to the players' apartment.

"They had consensual relations up to a point, and then she said she didn't want to go any further, and they stopped," Lindsay said.

Rape kit test results showed no semen or sperm in the woman's body, Lindsay said. The two men each passed a polygraph test, verified by a third expert, he said.

"A third polygraph expert reviewed the results and he agreed with the findings — that these guys were being completely truthful," Lindsay said.

He said the accuracy rate for a polygraph "is over 95 percent."

Lindsay and Messer said they repeatedly asked former District Attorney Ron Moore's office for the results of the rape kit test but never received them. The kit was tested at an SBI crime lab.

But Williams, who took office Jan. 1, was able to obtain the results within a day after the defense attorneys approached him about the rape evidence, Lindsay said.

"It seems odd to me that when you ask Todd Williams' office, they say sure, we'll get them," Lindsay said. "And they get them within 24 hours. Always before there were just excuses. We were getting told they didn't have the results yet, all kinds of stuff."

Moore, who lost to Williams in the Democratic primary election last year, could not be reached Monday.

Mason and Meaux were placed on baseball's restricted list after the charges were filed, effectively ending their careers with the Tourists, club president Brian DeWine said. The Tourists team is a minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies.

"I am aware the charges have been dropped," DeWine said. "At this time, I feel it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter."

Colorado Rockies officials could not be reached for comment. Lindsay said the Rockies released Mason over the weekend. Messer said he didn't know Meaux's status with the Rockies.

Meaux played college baseball at University of California Santa Barbara, and the Rockies drafted him in the 19th round in 2011. The 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher spent the 2012 season with the Rockies' rookies club in Grand Junction, Colorado, and joined the Tourists in spring 2013.

A relief pitcher from Glendale, California, Meaux appeared in 16 games for the Tourists and had an 0.90 ERA in 20 innings.

The Rockies drafted Mason in the 24th round in 2012. He was born in Maumee, Ohio, and played for Marshall in college. He also played for the Grand Junction team in 2012, then joined the Tourists in 2013 as a relief pitcher.

Mason, a 6-foot-3, left-handed pitcher, had a 3.38 ERA in 29 1-3 innings. He made 21 relief appearances, the last of which happened July 26, hours before police said the rape happened.

