Naval Academy Football Player Not Guilty of Rape

Former Naval Academy star quarterback Lamar S. Owens was found not guilty Thursday night of raping a fellow midshipman but was convicted of two lesser charges at his court-martial.

The verdict by the military jury of five Naval Academy officers came down shortly before 8 p.m. after nearly 10 hours of deliberations.

The panel found him guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and of violating the military restraining order to stay away from the woman he was alleged to have attacked.

The defense immediately asked the military judge to throw out the conduct charge, and the judge, Navy Cmdr. John Maksym, said he would hear arguments about that today.

Owens, 22, who maintained that his sexual intercourse with a fellow midshipman on Jan. 29 in the academy’s dormitory was consensual, displayed no immediate reaction to the verdict.

His accuser and her family were not in the courtroom in the Washington Navy Yard to hear the verdict, which came on the ninth day of the court-martial.

“Our strongest reaction right now is relief,” lawyer Reid Weingarten, the lead defense attorney for Owens, said afterward. “The rape charge was a horrible charge, and the jury came back with the right verdict.”

He predicted that the judge would throw out the conduct charge today. The two military prosecutors declined to comment.

If convicted of rape, Owens could have faced a sentence of up to life in prison, though such a long sentence is rare. The maximum penalty for each of the other two convictions is two years in a military prison.

Through her victim advocate, the accuser and her family declined to make a statement. Naval Academy officials said they were withholding comment until Owens was sentenced.

The defense attacked the credibility of the alleged victim, saying she was prone to binge drinking and that she was so drunk that night she did not know if she had invited Owens to her room, much less what happened later.

In contrast, Owens was portrayed by friends as an upstanding young man who would not have behaved as the woman said.

The 5-foot-9, 185-pound Owens became a starting quarterback in his senior year after appearing as a backup and on special teams in his first three years.

Last season’s Navy team went 8-4, including a win over Army in which Owens scored three touchdowns, ran for more than 100 yards and was voted most valuable player. He also led the team to a win in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.

Owens is an economics major and has been assigned to work in surface warfare after graduation.