A Naval Academy football player accused of sexually assaulting a female fellow student was found not guilty of the charges on Thursday.
Presiding judge Marine Col. Daniel Daugherty stated in his ruling that Midshipman Joshua Tate of Nashville was not guilty of aggravated sexual assault, following two days of testimony from various parties involved in the case.
Tate, who was accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman at an off-campus party in April of 2012, is just one of a few United States military members who have stood trail for sexual offenses in the recent past.
The question of whether the accuser was too inebriated at the time of the party to consent to sexual activity remained the focal point of the case.
Tate's attorney Jason Ehrenberg on Monday requested Col. Daugherty change the hearing to a bench trial, after expressing worry that the prosecution would try to "mislead" jurors about the definition of sexual assault.
Ehrenberg told Reuters the entire case was motivated by the U.S. Army's attempts to crack down on sexual misconduct.
"That's the system we have," he added. "We protect alleged victims, but we don't protect alleged perpetrators."
The woman, who was also a senior at the Annapolis, Md. service school said she had been drinking a lot of alcohol on the night in question, and didn't remember many of the details of the evening. She said friends told her she'd engaged in sexual activity with more than one person at the party days after. The unidentified United States Naval Academy student allegedly had sexual relations with Tate in a car parked outside the party.
She testified on Thursday that she was embarrassed to admit to investigators just how drunk she was at the party, Reuters reported.
Defense attorney Navy Commander Art Record in his closing arguments that the woman "made her decision and she did want she wanted to do."
But according to prosecutor Lieutenant Commander Phil Hamon, the student was too inebriated to "make that competent decision to have sex."
Two other Navy football players were initially involved in the case, but the charges against Tra'ves Bush and Eric Graham were eventually dropped.
