Jurisprudence

A videotape showing Tyson talking with a beauty pageant contestant who later accused him of rape was offered to the former heavyweight champion before it was seized by police, an Indiana Black Expo official told The Indianapolis Star.

The Rev. Charles R. Williams, president of Indiana Black Expo, said he was asked to offer the tape to Tyson before police knew of it.

Williams said J. Morris Anderson, promoter of the Miss Black America pageant, wanted him to offer the videotape to Tyson in exchange for $30,000 to $50,000 worth of television advertising for the pageant. Williams said that he turned down the offer and never contacted Tyson.

Williams said he believes that Anderson was driven by a desire to help his pageant.

The videotape shows Tyson talking with contestants during a pageant rehearsal on July 18. Tyson and an 18-year-old contestant reportedly talk about meeting afterward. The woman has accused Tyson of raping her July 19 in an Indianapolis hotel. Tyson has not been charged.

Those who have seen the tape say Tyson’s remarks to contestants are sexually suggestive.