Tubman enters not guilty plea

Published 1:29 am Thursday, October 9, 2014

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky freshman defensive lineman Lloyd Tubman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to first-degree rape and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing later this month.

Tubman was arrested Tuesday for the Oct. 2 incident involving a female student in a campus dormitory His preliminary hearing will be Oct. 23. First-degree rape is a felony in Kentucky and Tubman faces up 20 years in prison.

As Tubman appeared on video from Lexington-Fayette Jail, located several miles from Fayette District Court, Lexington attorney Jim Lowry entered his plea. It’s routine for people being held in jail to appear via video conference and Lowry has handled numerous cases involving Kentucky athletes.

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Dressed in a standard-issue prison jumpsuit, Tubman said little and frequently hung his head during the brief proceeding. The Louisville native was released to his mother’s custody after Judge Julie Goodman allowed 10% of his $10,000 bond, or $1,000 to be paid. He was ordered to have no contact with the woman.

Lowry and family members declined comment as they left the courthouse.

Tubman, who hasn’t played this season, has been suspended indefinitely by coach Mark Stoops. The university said in a release that the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Tubman is also subject to discipline under its code of conduct.

According to the arrest warrant obtained by The Associated Press, the woman called campus police Thursday following the incident involving Tubman, who she described as her ex-boyfriend. The AP does not identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault.

Tubman called the woman around midday Thursday and asked to talk with her in her room. She initially refused, but signed him in as a guest after he told her he was in the lobby, the warrant said.

The warrant states that the woman began typing a paper on a bed opposite Tubman, who kept knocking a shoe off her foot with a water bottle. When she went to pick it up, Tubman pressed against her from behind.

The woman told Tubman they weren’t going to have sex and returned to a roommate’s bed. She later looked up to find Tubman naked. As she picked up his clothes and repeated that they weren’t going to have sex, Tubman threw her on her bed and tried to undress her, the warrant said.

After resisting and threatening to scream if he didn’t stop, Tubman tried to cover the woman’s mouth with his hand and she bit him between the thumb and index finger. Tubman responded by biting her on the right shoulder blade, leaving a mark, the warrant said.

Tubman then forced the woman face-down on her bed and the rape occurred, the warrant said. She freed herself and ran to a closet but Tubman said he wasn’t done; scared, she ran to the other side of the room, and fell, the warrant stated.

The warrant states that Tubman laughed, and then said, “I’m done playin wit you.”

The woman told Tubman she had a class as an excuse to get him to leave. She signed Tubman out and security cameras show no interaction between the two, the warrant said.

The woman then called campus police, who collected physical evidence including clothing and towels. The woman was treated at UK Hospital’s emergency room.

Stoops said after Tuesday’s practice that the situation is “a major concern” and added, “We just feel for all parties involved and we’ll let the legal process go through its course.”