No-show delays Jefferson rape suit
By JASON McFARLEY
News Writer
A St. Joseph County Superior Court judge could forgo a jury trial and rule in favor of a former Saint Mary's student who alleged in a lawsuit that ex-Notre Dame football player Clifford Jefferson raped her last year.
Lawyers for the alleged victim this week asked Judge Jenny Pitts Manier to enter a default judgment for the woman, according to court records. If Manier approves the motion, it would have the effect of finding Jefferson liable in the civil case and would likely negate the need for a trial.
In the meantime, the judge has postponed the trial to Jan. 21.
The trial was to begin Monday, but neither Jefferson nor an attorney for the former Notre Dame cornerback appeared in court. That's when attorneys for the plaintiff made a motion for default judgment, a tactic commonly used when the opposing party is unresponsive to court dates.
Counsel for the alleged victim first entered a motion for default judgment in September 2001 after Jefferson had missed filing deadlines and court dates related to the original April 3, 2001, suit against him. On the day of the hearing to consider the motion, Jefferson retained a new lawyer who asked for an extension to file a response to the original complaint.
Recent documents show that Jefferson, who graduated in 2001, is not currently represented by counsel in the pending lawsuit. His last lawyer withdrew in October because he was unable to communicate with his client after Jefferson returned to his native Texas over the summer.
The suit against Jefferson alleges that he raped then- 19-year-old Saint Mary's freshman early March 22, 2001, after meeting her at a downtown South Bend bar. It claims Jefferson gave the woman a false name at the bar and later raped her in his car parked on Saint Mary's campus while she was passed out from the effects of alcohol.
The woman went home to Pennsylvania a week after the alleged assault and has not returned to school. She filed suit after a state police investigation found no grounds to pursue criminal charges.
The suit seeks damages for medical bills incurred by the woman and for physical and emotional suffering. It also seeks damages to discourage the alleged assailant from future sexual assaults.
Jefferson has reportedly denied the rape allegation and claimed the sex was consensual.
Four other former Notre Dame football players are awaiting trial early next year on criminal charges that they sexually assaulted a then 20-year-old female University student in March. University officials expelled the men in April for sexual misconduct, and the St. Joseph County prosecutor brought charges against them last summer.
All News Stories for Friday, December 6, 2002
