Attorneys for 2 former MSU football players say they're innocent

Show Caption Hide Caption 3 MSU football players charged; get to know who they are A judge authorized charges Tuesday against three MSU football players: Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance.

EAST LANSING – A woman "collapsed to the floor," she told police, after three Michigan State University football players sexually assaulted her in a bathroom during an on-campus party in January.

The men now face felony charges related to the assault, and were dismissed from the team Tuesday, shortly after a judge issued arrest warrants.

Josh King, 19, of Darien, Illinois, is charged with one count of first degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of third degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as with capturing an image of an unclothed person. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Donnie Corley, 19, and Demetric Vance, 20, both of Detroit, are charged with third degree criminal sexual conduct. They each face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

Vance was arraigned about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. Judge Richard Ball set bond at $10,000 and ordered that Vance have no contact with the victim.

Vance's attorney, Mary Chartier, said after the arraignment that her client is innocent. "He's an upstanding young man," she said. "He's falsely accused."

A preliminary hearing, which will determine if there is enough evidence for a trial, is set for June 22. Corley and King will be arraigned on the charges once they are arrested.

The charges stem from a Jan. 16 incident at a party at a campus apartment.

Det. Chad Davis, of the MSU police department, testified Tuesday morning that King asked the victim if she “wanted to speak somewhere quiet.” Davis added that the woman remembered being in two rooms but said King eventually “pulled her into a bathroom" and “tried to get the victim to have sex with him.”

RELATED:

Bios of the accused former MSU football players

Couch: MSU football sexual assault cases put Dantonio on hot seat

Seidel: Michigan State Board of Trustees' statement comes up short on sexual assault cases

“The victim said that King forced (her) to perform oral sex on him,” then “pulled her pants down” and had vaginal sex with her, Davis testified.

At some point, King let Vance and Corley into the bathroom at separate times, the detective added, and each forced her to perform oral sex on them.

"The victim said she eventually collapsed to the floor and all three suspects left the bathroom promptly," Davis told Ball on Tuesday morning during a hearing that led to charges.

Davis also testified:

• When questioned by police, all three players initially denied having any sexual contact with anyone at the party. All three later eventually admitted having sexual contact with the alleged victim in the bathroom.

• During the investigation, police found a “suspicious” text message thread between the three players and a fourth MSU football player, who officials did not identify. The conversation included dialogue indicating the three players’ “involvement in the sexual assault."

• Police also found a video on King’s cell phone that showed him having sex with the woman in the bathroom.

• When police asked the victim about the video, she said she was not aware of the recording and did not consent to it.

Head coach Mark Dantonio officially dismissed the players from the football team shortly after the hearing in Ball’s courtroom.

More: Dismissal of Corley, King, Vance decimates MSU’s vaunted 2016 class

“When we choose student athletes to come to MSU, we enter into a relationship with them and their families and we welcome them into ours," Dantonio said Tuesday. "We emphasize that success on the field is not enough. I say often times with success comes great responsibility. I made it clear when all three individuals were suspended four months ago upon learning of these allegations. They also must embrace or core principles which include integrity, as Mark (Hollis) talked about, respect, accountability, trust and communication. The individuals in this case put themselves in a compromising position and did not live up to the standards we have outlined for this program.

Sexual assault has no place in this community.”

The university announced on Feb. 9 that three players and a staff member associated with the team, later identified as Curtis Blackwell, had been suspended amid a sexual assault investigation.

Davis said during Tuesday morning's hearing that police first interviewed King on Jan. 26, and interviewed Vance and Corley for the first time on Feb. 7.

The MSU police department sent its first request for warrants on Feb. 16, and that same day prosecutors asked for further investigation. Police sent their second request for charges to prosecutors on March 14.

In a statement after warrants were issued, MSU Police Chief Jim Dunlap said his department spent more than 1,500 hours on the investigation and conducted more than 100 interviews and contacts.

"The MSU Police Department has zero tolerance for sexual assault," Dunlap said. "I’m confident that this extensive investigation was completed thoroughly, and our detectives worked diligently and exhaustively in providing information to the prosecutor’s office."

Karen Truszkowski, an attorney for the reported victim, asked the media and public to respect the privacy of her client, saying the case is dramatic and difficult. She said the woman “is in as good a place as anybody can be with what’s happened.”

There were some details revealed in testimony Tuesday that her client was not aware of, Truszkowski added. "...I'm sure that this is going to be really difficult when she finds out what's been put in the public record."

Read more: Timeline of events in Michigan State football's ongoing legal and off-field problems

Prosecutors had asked that Vance be held on a $50,000 cash bond, but Chartier characterized that as tantamount to a $1 million bond for a middle-class family.

She said Vance has no criminal history and is living with his parents. She asked for a personal bond, which would mean he could be released without posting any money.

The judge set a $10,000 general bond for Vance, meaning he could be released after posting $1,000.

She said Vance was “dismissed” from the university and is looking to enroll at another school, although he is appealing his dismissal. MSU spokesperson Jason Cody declined comment.

An attorney representing King did not respond to a request for comment.

"It’s never a good day when a criminal charge is filed against you, but at least Mr. Corley knows what he is facing and can get on with the process of fighting it," John Shea, Corley's attorney, said in statement. "As appropriately noted by Prosecutor Siemon in her statement, at this point the charge is only an accusation and Mr. Corley is presumed to be innocent. He maintains that, in fact, he IS innocent, and we intend to demonstrate that in the coming proceedings."

The university’s Title IX investigation, conducted by an independent investigator MSU hired, previously found that all three players violated the university’s relationship violence and sexual misconduct policy.

The charges are "deeply disturbing," MSU spokesman Jason Cody said in a statement. "Sexual violence is abhorrent, and our thoughts are with the young woman and her family at this difficult time."

Cody said MSU could not comment on the Title IX investigation, but reiterated the university has "strong policies in place and a longstanding commitment to do all we can to prevent sexual assault, to encourage speedy reporting when it does occur, and to support victims."

MSU is being sued by more than 95 women in connection with alleged sexual assaults by former university doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar's criminal cases in Eaton and Ingham counties and in federal court are pending.

MSU is also being sued in federal court by four women who say the university failed to adequately respond to their sexual assault complaints and protect them from retaliation. That lawsuit is unrelated to Nassar and came months after a federal investigation into how MSU handled sexual assault and harassment complaints on campus.

And, in an unrelated criminal case, former MSU football player Auston Robertson faces a third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge. Dantonio dismissed him from the team in April, the day a warrant was issued. Robertson, King, Corley and Vance were all part of the same recruiting class.

Blackwell, 39, had been the team's director of college advancement and performance at the time of the suspension.

Last month, Dantonio decided not to renew Blackwell’s contract, which was set to expire May 31. The contract previously had been extended twice, a month at a time.

A report released on Monday from the law firm Jones Day, hired by MSU to investigate the football program's handling of two reported sexual assaults, determined that there's evidence Blackwell violated university policy.

The law firm was "unable to gauge the severity" of potential policy violations because Blackwell declined to be interviewed.

Prosecutors declined to authorize criminal charges against Blackwell.

Contact Christopher Haxel at 517-377-1261 or chaxel@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisHaxel. Contact Matt Mencarini at (517) 267-1347 or mmencarini@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMencarini. Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.