http://www.orlandosentinel.com/s****ts/basketball/magic/orl-bk-goose090905,0,
4969483.story?coll=orl -magic
Jack "Goose" Givens emerged from the courtroom Friday with tears heavy in
his eyes and no smile on his face.
Yes, an Orange County jury had just acquitted the former Orlando Magic
television analyst of four *** crimes involving a teenage girl. But Givens
realized how close he came to having an unhappy ending.
His tone wasn't celebratory; it was sedate, almost spiritual.
"I just want to thank God for all that he has taught me through this
period
of time. I've had a lot of issues to deal with, least of all is pride,"
Givens said after thanking his lawyers, his family and especially his wife
for their sup****t since the allegations surfaced more than 14 months ago.
"I have been humbled greatly through this experience," he said. "I'm going
to be a much better man because of this."
When asked about his accuser, the 15-year-old girl who said he had
molested
her and made her touch his genitals, he said, "I don't really want to talk
about that right now."
Moments earlier, after the four not-guilty verdicts to felony ***ual
battery
and molestation charges were read in court, the girl who accused Givens
ran
from the room crying.
Contacted later, the girl's mother said it was likely that Givens'
celebrity
may have led the jurors to believe him over her daughter.
"We were robbed out of that verdict," she said. "We're very upset. We're
not
pleased."
A male relative was more blunt. "I have two words. Bull [expletive]!"
Givens' defense team worked all week to challenge the girl's credibility,
getting her to admit, for instance, that she lied about having *** before.
His lawyers even called a witness who heard the girl say she would try to
get Givens, 48, in trouble if she ever had the chance.
Defense attorney Michael Snure ****trayed the girl as a ***ually aware teen
with the propensity to lie and a motive to hurt Givens' reputation.
The girl was a basketball player who competed against a team that Givens
coached, the Comets. When her team and the Comets merged, she did not end
up
playing for Givens.
And when Givens testified on Thursday, he said she was not happy about not
being selected for his "A" squad.
Givens acknowledged carrying on instant-message conversations with the
girl,
some of which involved ***ual topics. Givens said the girl brought up the
***ual talk, and he advised her to talk to her parents about those issues.
Despite those online conversations and the fact that she was not a member
of
his team, Givens agreed to give the girl a private basketball lesson on
June
18, 2004.
The two played for about a half-hour on her backyard court, and then they
jumped in the girl's pool. .
While in the pool, the girl said Givens stood behind her, reached inside
her
two-piece bathing suit and groped her genital area. Her grandmother
watched
the two from inside the house and said they appeared to be standing too
close.
The girl said he molested her again and made her touch his genitals later
in
her bedroom. Givens denied touching the girl in a ***ual way, but told the
jury he used "bad judgment" by getting himself into a situation where he
could be accused.
Prosecutors figured they had strong evidence in the instant messages
Givens
sent the teen after the girl made the allegations. In those messages, he
appeared to apologize for his actions. He also apologized during a taped
phone call with her.
He never expressed surprise when she brought up the allegations. But
during
his testimony, Givens said he "was caught off guard" by the claims and
tried
"to placate" the girl.
The prosecution also argued that the girl had suffered a small wound in
the
genital area that a nurse said was consistent with the attack she had
alleged.
But the girl's exam did not come until five days after the alleged
incident.
And Dr. William Anderson, a forensic pathologist hired by Givens,
testified
Friday that after reviewing pictures of the injury, he had concluded that
the abrasion was not likely more than two or three days old.
In the end, attorneys on both sides agreed that in the CSI age, jurors
want
to see scientific evidence. And Anderson's testimony may have been the
information that convinced jurors to find Givens not guilty.
Givens, whose contract as a color analyst for the Magic was not renewed
earlier this year, would not talk about his future in broadcasting.
A Magic representative said the team would not comment.
|
