COLLEGE PARK, Md.-
The sexual assault case against a U.S. Naval Academy football player was dropped Monday, a day before it was to go to trial, but school officials said new charges could be filed.
Kenny Ray Morrison, a senior from Kingwood, Texas, who was accused of taking advantage of a drunken female midshipman on Feb. 4 in a Washington hotel room, was to face a special court martial Tuesday at the Washington Navy Yard. Morrison had pleaded not guilty.
His attorney said he first learned the case was dropped when his witnesses were informed they were no longer needed.
Navy prosecutors then confirmed the charges of indecent assault and conduct unbecoming an officer against Morrison were dropped, but gave few details why, defense attorney William Ferris said.
“The way this was handled was outrageous,” Ferris said.
Academy Superintendent Vice Adm. Rodney Rempt ordered the charges be dropped without prejudice because “the Naval Academy anticipates proffering new charges,” said academy spokesman Cmdr. Ed Austin.
He would not say what those charges may be or give details about the new information that has “recently become available” to Navy investigators. Any new charges would likely be referred to an Article 32 hearing, the military’s form of a grand jury, Austin said.
According to the case against him, Morrison was accused of removing the woman’s clothes in a Washington hotel after a night of drinking. Charging documents state he pressured her “to engage in multiple acts of sexual intercourse.” A Navy investigator testified during a preliminary hearing that Morrison’s DNA was recovered from a rape kit conducted on the woman.
Despite the allegations, Morrison was not charged with rape and faced a special court martial, a lesser form of military trial than a general court martial. If convicted, he likely would not have faced prison time.
Earlier this month, a military judge ruled that evidence the woman was given a date rape drug near the time of the alleged assault could not be used during the trial. Marine Lt. Col. Paul McConnell ruled the GHB found in a toxicology report could not be linked to Morrison.
Morrison is one of three people at the Naval Academy accused of sexual misconduct this year, including the football team’s star quarterback. The cases come as closer scrutiny is cast on the nation’s military schools following numerous claims of sexual assault.
The academy has taken several steps to curb abuse, such as tightening its alcohol policies and encouraging midshipman to report it, but a Pentagon report last year said the school was not doing enough.
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