Moment naked basketball star drags sex assault accuser back to his hotel room but he was found not guilty
SHOCKING surveillance video showing a near-naked basketball star drag his half-naked sex assault accuser back to his hotel room has been publicly released.
Mateen Cleaves, who played six seasons in the NBA, has been acquitted of four sexual assault charges by a jury.
A lawyer for the former Michigan State basketball star said during his trial that consensual sex between two adults was not a crime.
Frank Manley made the comment in an opening statement in Cleaves’ trial in Genesee County Circuit Court in Michigan.
Manley said his client’s accuser was in a Flint area hotel room with Cleaves in September 2015 “of her own free will.”
But assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Lisa Lindsey told the jury the woman, 24, told Cleaves she wanted to leave, but he continued to force himself on her.
On August 20, the jury found the 41-year-old not guilty.
The video, which had been played for jurors in court, but was not allowed to be broadcast during the trial, was taken by CCTV outside the two-star Knights Inn Hotel in Grand Blanc, Michigan.
Prosecutors told the court that the pair’s struggle occurred between 1.30am and 2am.
The Wayne County’s Prosecutor’s Office has now released the disturbing footage following a public records request.
In the first part of the clip, Cleaves can be seen wearing only socks outside the hotel. While his accuser walks away, half-naked, she is closely pursued by him.
She looked at me and she said ‘help me, help me, help me’. And I had the phone in my hand, and I told her ‘I’m on the phone right now calling the police’
Eyewitness Colleen Dowdall, in court
In the video, the woman is grabbed by Cleaves, who then turns her around, and starts to pull her back to the room she had just tried to leave.
But she is clearly trying to stop him taking her into it, bending her knees and trying to pull away from him.
The CCTV has no audio.
However, witness Colleen Dowdall, who was staying at the hotel that night, testified that she had seen the pair struggle.
Dowdall explained that the woman “looked at me and she said ‘help me, help me, help me’. And I had the phone in my hand, and I told her ‘I’m on the phone right now calling the police’.
“I looked Mateen in the eyes; he didn’t say a word.”
CLEAVES ACQUITTED
About 13 minutes later, Cleaves’ accuser is filmed again by the surveillance camera.
Despite running away from him, he grabs her with both arms and again starts to pull the woman back to the accommodation. After she falls to the ground, Cleaves wraps both arms around her waist and pulls the woman back to the room.
Telling the court that she had spoken to the woman that night, Dowdall added: “She said he got on top of her, she couldn’t fight him off and she just laid there.”
Cleaves’ lawyers said the video showed he was trying to protect the woman.
After deliberating for three hours, jurors acquitted Cleaves of all charges.
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He led Michigan State to the NCAA basketball championship in 2000 and played for four NBA teams.
Cleaves’ lawyer told WXYZ that the footage didn’t matter.
He said in an email: “The video was presented in a court of law. A jury found Mr Cleaves not guilty of all charges.
“The complainant had her day in court. The criminal matter is closed. Not guilty remains not guilty.”