Montana QB Johnson Charged With Rape

On late Tuesday, University of Montana starting quarterback Jordan Johnson was formally charged with having sexual intercourse without consent, stemming back to a Feb. 4 incident.

The affidavit describes a chain of events beginning with a text message from Johnson stating he and the alleged victim get together that night.  While watching a movie, court documents allege Johnson became aggressive when she resisted and said “I will make you.”

The felony charge carries a sentence from two years to life in prison.

University President Royce Engstrom stated Johnson has been suspended from the team, as called for by the student athlete conduct code.

Johnson maintains his innocence, according to his attorney David Paoli.  Paoli released a statement saying, “Jordan and his family are surprised and saddened by the county’s decision to levy a criminal charge now, given that the encounter between Jordan and the complainant occurred in early February and the police have been aware of the allegation since she filed a report six weeks later.”

The accusation is apart of investigations by the Department of Justice, Department of Education, and the NCAA on how university and city officials have responded to reports of sexual assault at the university and in Missoula.

A university investigation completed earlier this year discovered nine allegations of sexual assault that had gone unreported over 18 months, and two others have been surfaced since then.

So far, the only other sexual assult case involving Montana student athletes was in January when running back Beau Donaldson was suspended from the team after he was charged with raping an acquaintance in September 2010. He has pleaded not guilty.

Johnson’s immediate suspension from the team leaves Grizzlies without an experienced quarterback heading into the 2012 season, as none have completed a single pass in a game.  For now, redshirt sophomore Shay Smithwick-Hann seems to be the likely candidate as a starter, while many are impressed by the speed and potential of redshirt freshman Trent McKinney.

True freshman Brady Gustafson, the tallest quarterback in Montana history at 6-7, could also potentially be in the mix.

There have also been rumors of a potential drop down quarterback from Stanford in either junior Robbie Picazo or true freshman Dallas Lloyd.  However, either seems very unlikely with fall camp and the season fast approaching.

Montana players will report to fall camp on Aug. 5.