A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams, former University of Tennessee (UT) football players, will be tried separately for raping the same woman.
The trial for both players was set for Aug. 24, but that date will now be solely Williams, according to the Tennessean, while Johnson will go to trial on Sept. 29. Stephen Ross, an attorney based in Knoxville, Tenn. who is representing Johnson, requested the separate trials in a motion filed in May.
"A jury must make an individual decision about innocence or guilt of each person accused, and often separate trials aid the integrity of that process," he said in his filing at the time.
Johnson and Williams are accused of raping a 19-year-old female in Nov. 2014 while the pair of defensemen were playing for the UT Volunteers. Both were indicted in Feb. on two counts each of aggravated rape charges, which could result in a 15-to-60-year prison sentence and a fine up $50,000 fine if convicted, the Tennessean reported.
Late last month, the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights opened a federal investigation at UT to examine how the school is handling complaints of sexual misconduct and sexual violence. UT could not comment on the matter for legal reasons, but Johnson and Williams' case highlighted similar cases involving football players being accused of sexual assault.
"While privacy laws prevent the university from disclosing the details of the complaint, I can assure you we will cooperate fully with OCR as it investigates the complaint," the school told the Tennessean at the time.
If the feds find UT at fault for failing to comply with the gender equity Title IX law, or the campus crime transparency Clery Act, they could fine the institution more than $10,000 per violation.
