si.com
Ore. recruit pleads, keeps roster spot
Posted: Tuesday June 13, 2006 1:50PM
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Marvin Johnson, a University of Oregon football recruit who faced charges of sexual abuse, has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will join the team this fall.
The 18-year-old from Compton, Calif., pleaded guilty Monday to criminal trespassing and harassment. He was sentenced to probation and 30 days in jail. The resolution means Johnson will keep his full scholarship, said Dave Williford, the university's media services director.
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Johnson and another recruit, Major Marquis Culbert, 18, of San Pedro, Calif., were each accused of groping a woman in a dorm room while visiting Eugene on a recruiting trip in January.
Oregon officials quickly learned of the accusations against Culbert and stopped recruiting him. Unaware that Johnson was directly involved, they signed him to a national letter of intent. Officials learned of his indictment in May.
Culbert, who signed with Nebraska as a defensive back, has pleaded not guilty. No court dates are set in his case.
Johnson, who was 17 at the time of the incident, had no prior criminal record, Deputy Lane County District Attorney Bob Gorham said in court.
The victim encouraged the plea bargain, Gorham said.
Johnson was recruited as a safety after helping Dominguez High School in Compton to a state title in the fall. He has a grade-point average of 3.2 and will graduate from high school at the end of the week, defense lawyer Bill Honsowetz said in court.
"He has learned his lesson," Honsowetz told Lane County Circuit Judge Karsten Rasmussen.
During five years of probation, Johnson is forbidden from drinking alcohol or remaining anywhere that alcohol is served until he is 21.
He was allowed until July 6 to begin serving his jail sentence, which may include alternative programs such as road crew.
