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She Said He Raped Her. A Jury Disagreed.

   DailyWire.com

A Former Ohio State University running back was cleared on two counts of rape late last week.

Bri’onte Dunn was accused of rape by a woman he had briefly dated in the summer of 2017, according to reporting on the trial from CBS affiliate WBNS-10TV. The woman, who still can’t be named, claimed that after they broke up, he called her for a ride home at 4 a.m. on August 20, 2017. On the witness stand, she testified: “I said where do you want me to take you? He said back to your apartment. I said no, you’re not coming back to my apartment. We’re not seeing each other anymore. I don’t feel comfortable with you staying there.”

She said she told him she would order him an Uber from her apartment, but once there, he got into bed with her. She said the first time he initiated sexual contact, she said “no,” and he stopped. She said he tried a second time and didn’t stop when she told him to stop. She claimed she screamed and he finally stopped.

“He noticed I was crying he was like, ‘what’s wrong?’ I was like, ‘I told you I didn’t want to have sex.’ I think he said I’m sorry, and got off of me and rolled over,” she said.

She said she used the bathroom and returned to the bed with Dunn. When he woke up, she said she hoped “he would come talk to me about what happened,” but “he just left.” She reported the incident to police and was examined for sexual assault.

She then admitted to contacting Dunn 27 times after he allegedly raped her. She claimed she did this to get him to apologize.

“If I believed he was really sorry about it, I wouldn’t have reported it,” even though she went to police the day after.

She also admitted she told Dunn she would tell police she lied about the whole thing, but said on the witness stand she didn’t lie. The jury heard two recorded phone calls where she asked to meet with Dunn after their encounter, and said she would tell everyone that she lied. Dunn told her to leave him alone.

The jury was not allowed to hear that this woman had previously falsely accused a former boyfriend in 2016. She admitted that she had lied about this encounter, but a judge did not allow this testimony to be included at trial.

In his opening statements, Dunn’s attorney, Joe Landusky said the woman made the accusation because she was scorned.

“She fell in love. She said ‘you are now my boyfriend, I love you, I want to have your baby. I want to be the wife of an NFL football player,’” Landusky said. “Because my client didn’t say goodbye in an appropriate way, he has now become a rapist.”

As the trial wrapped up, prosecutors offered to drop the rape charges against Dunn in exchange for a guilty plea to misdemeanor assault.

“My client has categorically rejected that offer,” Landusky said. “My client has told me, and I even asked him, if they offer a minor misdemeanor disorderly conduct and suspended all fines and costs, would you take a deal? He says no. and his reason for that is because he is an innocent man. He’s not just presumed innocent, but actually innocent.”

The jury took less than three hours to find Dunn not guilty on two counts of rape.

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