Witnesses Say Penguins’ Lemieux Was Present During Alleged Rape

Witnesses told police that Mario Lemieux, the Pittsburgh Penguin star, was present when Minnesota North Star forward Dan Quinn allegedly raped a 19-year-old woman, according to a court document filed Friday.

The document--a police investigator’s affidavit seeking a search warrant--does not indicate that Lemieux took part in the alleged assault, and Chief Bob Lutz of the Bloomington, Minn., police department reiterated Friday that Quinn is the only person who might be charged in the incident.

Quinn, 27, a former Penguin player, has been accused of raping the woman Nov. 10 in a room at a Bloomington hotel. Quinn was arrested in connection with the alleged assault but is free on $30,000 bond and has not been formally charged.

Quinn has maintained that the sex was consensual. He is on leave from the North Stars. Lemieux and the Penguins would not comment, but Lemieux’s agent, Tom Reich said: “The alleged victim has a vivid imagination. And we will make an appropriate response at the proper time.”

“Mario” is mentioned twice in the 1 1/2-page affidavit, which said he called “Dan” into a bathroom at one point during the alleged assault, and later returned some beer-soaked clothes to the alleged victim and another woman who was in the room.