Brandon Underwood, Green Bay Packers wait while investigators weigh sexual assault allegations
More than a month has passed since Green Bay Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood was accused of sexual assault, but a former prosecutor says no one should read anything into the delay.
The case is extraordinarily complicated, and investigators and prosecutors need to take time to make sure they get it right, said Kevin Rathburn, a former prosecutor with the Brown County District Attorneys Office and currently a criminal justice instructor and municipal court judge.
Underwood, 23, has not been charged with a crime but was accused of sexual assault June 5 by two women in Lake Delton.
The two women, ages 31 and 33 of Milwaukee, originally implicated six other Packers players but then changed their story and said only Underwood was involved. The incident supposedly happened while the seven players were staying at a condo at the Wilderness Resort Golf Cabins in Lake Delton. The players were in town for the 13th Annual McGovern Charity Golf Tournament hosted by Clay Matthews & Friends.
Underwood has claimed the sexual contact with the women was consensual.
Underwoods lawyer, Richard Kaiser of South Milwaukee, has said the delay was understandable but frustrating, because it keeps a shadow hanging over Underwood. He predicted that in the end, Brandon will be vindicated.
Lake Delton Police Chief Tom Dorner said money was exchanged prior to the alleged assault. That fact alone is enough to greatly complicate an already difficult case, said Rathburn, who is not involved in the case but provided some analysis of the public facts.
The exchange of money always pollutes an investigation, Rathburn said. It only makes it more difficult to determine who the real perpetrator or victim is.
Sexual assaults are among the most difficult cases to prosecute, because usually youre dealing with a victim and perpetrator and no other witnesses, Rathburn said. Witnesses to events leading up to an alleged assault often are unreliable, because it likely was a party atmosphere, with alcohol and loud music to affect peoples memories, he said.
If the two women in the Underwood case changed their story, as Dorner said, that also complicates things, Rathburn said. It does call their credibility into question, but it doesnt automatically mean they were lying, because people often adjust their statements when confronted with physical evidence or other peoples testimony, Rathburn said. Peoples interpretation of what constitutes a sexual assault may also differ from what police or prosecutors would determine is a provable offense, he said.
If the women were indeed victimized but still being scrutinized for criminal behavior, that also can complicate the investigation, Rathburn said. It could affect their willingness to cooperate, which makes investigation harder, he said.
The case is also complicated by the fact that Underwood is a high-profile professional athlete, Rathburn said.
It makes it a lose-lose situation for the prosecutor, Rathburn said. If you do charge him, its because hes this guy, and if you dont, its because hes this guy.
Four weeks is not an excessive delay for a case of this complexity, Rathburn said.
I never get concerned about length of time, he said. As prosecutors, we encourage investigators to get it right, rather than to hurry it up.