Woman Denies She Enticed Three Players in USC Case

A female USC graduate student denied Wednesday in Los Angeles Municipal Court that she had had prior physical contact with three Trojan football players who she alleges pinned her to a bed and sexually assaulted her last summer.

The woman testified that she did not grab any of the players in a playful manner or entice them sexually during a 29-day Summer College in which she was a peer counselor.

The issue was raised by defense attorney Alex R. Kessel during a lengthy cross-examination in which he said testimony by other witnesses will show that complaints were made about the woman’s behavior toward the defendants before the alleged incident on July 20.

Two of the players, Willie McGinest and Jason Oliver, are charged with misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment and battery. Michael Jones is charged with one count of misdemeanor sexual battery and one count of false imprisonment.

When asked if she was told that Jones and McGinest had complained to another peer counselor about her conduct, she replied, “No.”

“I may have patted (McGinest’s) arm or back after a test . . . never in a sexual manner. Absolutely not,” she said.

The woman testified that Jones and McGinest harassed her sexually throughout the college, a program designed for incoming freshmen with academic deficiencies. A number of USC athletes were enrolled.

The woman testified that Jones said to her, “You need it from me. . . . You need it from the big M.J.”

She testified that McGinest once patted her on the buttocks and pinned her against a wall.

“I told them I didn’t like their activity,” she testified, adding that she never formally filed a complaint against the defendants until after the alleged incident.