In Brief : Footballer to Be Tried for Assault

Denver Broncos lineman Gerald Perry faces a jury trial July 31 on charges of first-degree sexual assault.

Adams County District Judge Thomas Ensor scheduled the trial Tuesday, after Perry appeared in court to plead innocent to charges that he raped an Aurora woman last fall at his Westminster home.

The 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman was accompanied by his wife, Conya, and their baby. Attorneys for both sides predicted the trial will take about two days.

Perry was a 24-year-old rookie who had just cracked the Broncos starting line-up last December when he was arrested on the rape charge. He later was released on $20,000 bond.

Perry was arrested after the 25-year-old woman told Westminster police that Perry assaulted her the morning of Nov. 22. The woman alleged that she had been drinking heavily at a friend’s home and then accepted a ride from a stranger on East Sixth Avenue in Denver.

She said the driver, whom she alleged was Perry, took her to a house, pulled a handgun and fired one shot before attempting to stick the gun barrel in her mouth and ordering her to disrobe.