DALLAS (AP) — Attorneys for a former Baylor University student accused of rape have broken their silence after a judge allowed the former fraternity president to avoid serving jail time, attacking the woman who accused their client of assaulting her.
Attorneys Mark Daniel and Tim Moore said that a statement in a Waco, Texas, court Monday by the woman who accused Jacob Walter Anderson was "riddled with distortions and misrepresentations." They said people at a fraternity party where she says Anderson assaulted her witnessed them "kissing passionately." They also said her claim that she was choked was "absolutely contrary" to evidence.
Anderson's attorneys had declined comment when Judge Ralph Strother accepted a plea agreement Monday allowing Anderson to avoid jail or be listed as a sex offender. The judge's decision sparked outrage and on Tuesday Anderson's attorneys spoke to the Waco Tribune-Herald to respond to what they called "significant misrepresentations" about the case.
The woman has sharply criticized both the judge and prosecutors, saying the attack robbed her of control over her body.
A spokesman for the woman's family described the comments from Anderson's attorneys as untrue.
The woman said she was plied with a drink of punch at the fraternity party in 2016 and became disoriented. Anderson, the woman said, led her behind a tent and assaulted her while she was gagged and choked. Anderson's attorneys dispute that, saying no drugs were found in her system.
Anderson was indicted on sexual assault charges but the deal allowed him to plead no contest to a lesser charge of unlawful restraint. He agreed to seek counseling and pay a $400 fine. He was expelled from Baylor after a separate university investigation.
The woman has not been identified and The Associated Press generally does not name possible victims of sexual assault.
