USC Freshmen Plead Not Guilty

Three USC freshman football players pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual battery in arraignments this week in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

The players--Michael Jones of Panorama City, Willie McGinest of Long Beach and Jason Oliver of Bakersfield--will be tried Dec. 5 on the misdemeanor charges.

Jones and McGinest appeared in court Friday, Oliver Wednesday. Jones is charged with one count of sexual battery and one count of false imprisonment. McGinest and Oliver are charged with one count of battery and one count of false imprisonment.

The athletes are free on their own recognizance. All remain on the USC football team, McGinest as a starting outside linebacker.

The charges stem from an incident July 20, during which a 22-year-old graduate student at USC said the players took her into a dormitory room in Pardee Tower and assaulted her.

Jones’ attorney, James E. Blatt, said the athletes welcome a jury trial to clear themselves. “All of them are adamant about their innocence,” Blatt said.

The maximum sentence for the battery charge is six months in jail, a $2,000 fine or both. The maximum sentence for false imprisonment is one year in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.