College Sports: Va Tech gives Vick the boot

Virginia Tech has kicked qb Marcus Vick orr it's football team for an incident in the Gator Bowl, Vick stomped on the calf of defensive end Elvis Dumervil during the Jan. 2 bowl.

i have just become a big Va Tech fan,

I have a number of comments and questions (how out of character, huh?).

(1) Does anyone know HOW young the "underage" girls he gave the alcohol to were? In California, that could mean as old as 20, but it could also mean a lot younger. And "underage" for sex would mean no older than 17.

(2) How many more years of eligibility would he have at another school? The stats I found said he's only played two years, which would suggest he can play two more years elsewhere. Is that true?

(3) TO COLLEGE FB EXPERTS: Who, if anyone, will take him?

(4) How badly, if at all, did he hurt this kid whom he stomped on?

(5) Toejam, I am 100% with you. This is the perfect contrast to the Lawrence Phillips situation. And it's going to take a lot to stop me from rooting for Va Tech in the ACC. Sorry, Bobby B, but that's how it is. Here's a school which clearly demonstrated the right priorities... which, b.t.w., you didn't do when you had Sebstian Janitkowski.

(6) Does anyone think this kid will wind up like Maurice Clarett? With his big brother's bankroll to keep him out of trouble, he probably can avoid it if he WANTS to, but from the reading I just did about him, this sure sounds like one kid who loves trouble and doesn't think any rule applies to him because his @ss is going to be covered--a belief whose fallacy was just demonstrated very neatly to him. What do y'all know and think about him?

B.H.N.

Originally posted by BaseballHistoryNut

I have a number of comments and questions (how out of character, huh?).

(1) Does anyone know HOW young the "underage" girls he gave the alcohol to were? In California, that could mean as old as 20, but it could also mean a lot younger. And "underage" for sex would mean no older than 17.

If i remember rightly, the girls were pretty young. Around 14-15 years old. Vick and some team mates gave them some alcholic beverages, but sex charges was dropped. Trouble seems to be his middle name, as a little time before that incident he was up on recklass driving charges and possesion of marijuana. Which was meant to contribute to his yearly suspension by his college, but i guess it had nothing to do with his 30 day jail sentance for fooling around with them girls huh...

What the law typically says, including in California, is that if they're under 18, they cannot consent, but the fact that they did is a mitigating factor, and anyway, someone his age having sex with a 16-year-old is not that big a crime, nor does it carry much time. But having sex with a CHILD is another thing, and at least in California, that includes even engaging in a simple lewd act.

From your post, it sounds like he did allegedly engage in a lewd act, and with a 14-year-old, at that!! Do you, or anyone else, know what state this was in? If I find that out, I can easily research their penal code on the Net and find out what the cutoff age is there for child molestation, which is a whole different crime from "statutory rape," and carries vastly more time--not to mention meaning that you have to fight everyone in the joint, once they find out what you're in for.

I did a quick search and it was ment to have happened in Vicks apartment in Blacksburg, where ever that is (virginia?) and he was up in front of Judge Robert C. Viar Jr. in Montgomery County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Two girls, 14 and 15, told authorities the players gave them vodka and rum, and then one of the players photographed them as they danced and stripped. The two girls alleged Vick had sex with another girl, 15.

Link

:approve:

The only question is, why did it take so long, with all the thing he had going against him?

Blacksburg is in Virginia. And I am now going to try to find on the Internet what specifically Virginia's child molestation statute says. I'm willing to bet those girls didn't do their strip dances without being touched, but my visceral hunch is a long way from "proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

WARNING: This post may not be for you, if you have a queasy stomach.

OK, here is what I found for Virginia law:

(1) The cutoff age for child molestation is one year higher than in California, meaning the victim has to be under FIFTEEN. However, if she's 13 or 14, her "consent" is relevant. Seems Virginia's sex laws are more liberal than the ones here in CA. And, as will appear, the penalties are a lot more liberal than here, where child molesters get crucified.

(2) The child molestation statute is Criminal Code section 18.2-370, and is called "Taking indecent liberties with children." For a defendant who's neither a relative nor a custodian, it's a "Class 5" felony--the meaning of which I'll spell out below;

(3) Here is what's required to constitute "taking indecent liberties" (THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NOT USED TO READING THIS KIND OF GARBAGE MIGHT WANT TO STOP RIGHT NOW. I'VE HAD TO READ IT FOR YEARS, AS A PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENT....):

-----A: Exposing one's privates to a child under 15; or

-----B: Asking the child to feel or fondle your privates, OR asking that the child let you do so to her/him; or

-----C: Asking the child to perform an act of "sexual intercourse" (which means screwing), or oral sex, or the other two major sex acts; OR

-----D: Enticing or inviting a child to enter a vehicle, room, house or other place for any of the purposes described in this statute.

The rest of the statute talks about people who receive money or other remuneration for encouraging or allowing this kind of garbage to be filmed; and about the increased criminal liability of repeat offenders or blood relatives who do this kind of garbage. Repeat offenders are only deemed guilty of a "Class Four Felony," whereas first-timers are guilty of a "Class Five Felony."

In Virginia, a Class Four Felony is punishable by anywhere from two to ten years in a state prison. A Class Five Felony can get you anywhere from one to ten years in a state prison, but you can also get off with a maximum of one year in county jail.

From what I've found so far, sex with the fifteen year old is only illegal in Virginia if it was non-consensual or if it was videotaped for money. BUT if in fact it's true that the 15 year old had sex, and that the 14 year old was given booze and asked to enter the apartment, what do y'all suppose she was asked there for? And what do you suppose she was asked to do once she was in there?

REMEMBER: Under this statute, even asking is enough to violate the law, as is asking her inside for that purpose.

Anyway, there is the relevant legal information, now that others have provided the relevant factual information. I guess this is where we all draw our own conclusions about what happened, about whether he should have been prosecuted for this in the first place, and about whether--under the heading of better late than never--they should look hard at doing so now.

Personally, I would give quite a bit to read the unexpurgated version of the police report.

B.H.N.

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but -

Virginia Tech president Charles Steger asked a school oversight committee to look into Tech's handling of former quarterback Marcus Vick, who was tossed from the team for a series of offenses.

Three days after he was booted from the team, Vick was charged with pulling a gun on three people in a restaurant parking lot in Suffolk, Va. He has announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft.

Steger said he will ask a committee to look into how Tech dealt with its former quarterback's indiscretions and see if changes should be made to the 4,000-word document that outlines the state university's rules on student-athlete behavior.

"I do want to find out what actually happened," Steger told The Roanoke Times for Saturday's editions. "Each person, when confronted with the situation, did what they thought was right. ... Now, are there things that we need to put in place to make the process of handling such an instance more effective in the future?"

source

CBS Sportsline

Um, yes.

Somebody in the NFL will take him. They're always looking for a QB with a gun.