California rape case: Jury clears 2 men in civil suit

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2 former De Anza students cleared of rape charges
San Francisco Chronicle: April 7, 2011

Two former De Anza College baseball players are not liable and will not pay civil damages in connection with an alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at a San Jose house party four years ago, a jury determined Thursday.

The Santa Clara County Superior Court civil jury cleared Kenneth Chadwick and Christopher Knopf of any liability in a case in which a group of up to nine men had been accused of sexually assaulting the girl, identified only as Jane Doe, at a March 2007 party at a San Jose-area house.

The plaintiff had accused Chadwick of negligence and Knopf of sexual battery, rape, false imprisonment and other allegations.

But one juror revealed that the panel had been divided by the case during three days of deliberations. In civil courts in California, a jury can render a verdict if three-fourths of the jury agree.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/07/BA6E1IS7NS.DTL

Both the county district attorney (Dolores Carr) and state attorney general (Jerry Brown, now the governor) declined to press charges against any of the 10 men accused of rape due to lack of evidence; this article further reports: "Three young women who were members of the De Anza women's soccer team said they rescued the girl from an attack." The other 8 either were dismissed or settled out of court.