Appeal Heard In Convictions Of 3 Athletes In Sex Assault (original) (raw)
New York|Appeal Heard In Convictions Of 3 Athletes In Sex Assault
Advertisement
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
- April 24, 1997
See the article in its original context from
April 24, 1997
,
Section B, Page
TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers.
Four years after three former high school football players from Glen Ridge, N.J., were convicted of sexually assaulting a mildly retarded girl in front of several schoolmates, they have yet to serve any time behind bars for the crime, and their lawyers argued today that they never should.
The three athletes, who are now in their mid-20's, have graduated from college and are working. They remain free on bail, and today their lawyers came before a state appeals court to argue that the jury's guilty verdicts should be overturned.
The defense lawyers said that the highly publicized trial had been tainted when one juror frequently led the others in a morning prayer for the girl and when the leading prosecutor sang ''The Sounds of Silence'' in his closing arguments.
The three appellate judges, of the State Superior Court, often interrupted with pointed questions, many aimed at the prosecutors, who were trying to save a case that had gained national attention. The young men, reared in middle-class homes, were accused of luring a vulnerable victim to a basement on March 1, 1989, and then sexually assaulting her with a broom and a baseball bat while as many as 10 of their schoolmates pulled up chairs to watch.
The three -- Christopher Archer and twins, Kevin and Kyle Scherzer -- did not attend the hearing. Their lawyers would not disclose where they live. The woman, now 25, still lives with her parents in Glen Ridge.
John Vincent Saykanic, a lawyer for Kevin Scherzer, said that during the five-month trial that began in 1992, the juror, Ronald Simpson, an aspiring minister and a correction officer at the Essex County jail, had led the jury in early morning prayers for both the victim and the football players.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement