AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION: Differing accounts voiced in BYU student's rape trial

The Daily Universe PROVO, Utah (U-WIRE) -- Two very different scenarios were described Tuesday by attorneys in an aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping trial involving a Brigham Young University student. Michael Drew, 19, is charged with the January 5 aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping of a BYU sophomore. Both charges are felonies. Utah County deputy attorney Sherry Regan opened arguments for the prosecution by describing the mental and emotional scarring borne by the victim following a night of repeated sexual assault in the Drew family home. Defense attorney Steven Killpack followed with a plea that the jury examine evidence closely and carefully determine whether the felony charges were warranted and whether there was cause for reasonable doubt of the victim's words. He argued that by the end of the trial it would be evident that the victim, motivated by anger, fear and shame, had lied to cover up actions that both parties knew were morally wrong but were not actually criminal. "If there is an aggressor in this case -- and the word is wrong for this situation, I know -- but if there is one, it is [the woman]," Killpack told the jury. "Whatever happened that night, it was with consent," he said. The victim was called as the first witness and testified for nearly two hours. She said that while watching movies at Drew's house on January 5, Drew kissed and touched her against her will, eventually removing and tearing her clothing and forcing sexual acts. The victim said she repeatedly told Drew to stop touching and kissing her but that he repeatedly responded with, "You'll enjoy this," "Just relax," "You know you want it" and covered her mouth with his hand or mouth to stop her protests. At one point Drew left the room for a few minutes. Although his absence gave her the opportunity to leave, the victim said she was too stunned to move. There were nine members of the Drew family in the house at the time of the assault. All say they didn't hear the assault or sounds of struggle, Killpack said. The woman maintained that she left Drew's house just before dawn and wandered the streets thinking about what to do before seeking help at the home of a friend. The prosecution said that a doctor who examined the woman after the incident found "injuries highly suggestive of nonconsensual sex." In his arguments, defense attorney Killpack said the victim's claims to have walked nearly seven hours in below-freezing weather were implausible and that Drew could prove the woman willingly stayed in his bedroom until noon January 6. He also disputed the extent of the woman's injuries. Other key questions in the case were why the Drew family never heard the alleged assault, how much the woman initiated and consented in the relations and what occurred in the hours the victim claimed she spent walking. The jury trial will continue through tomorrow.