*Former Michigan State University basketball player Mateen Cleaves offered some words to his wife and children after a jury delivered a not guilty verdict on all four counts in his sexual assault case.
Cleaves was accused of sexually assaulting and holding a woman captive on Sept. 15, 2015 at the Knights Inn in Mundy Township. Video from the night shows the naked accuser struggling and pulling away from Cleaves as he attempts to pull her back into a motel room.
The video has no audio but shows Cleaves grab the woman, “spin her around and pull her back toward the room she just tried to leave. She resists, bending her knees and trying to pull away,” ABC Action News writes.
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Colleen Dowdall, a resident of the motel on September 15, said she witnessed the struggle and testified during the criminal trial.
“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,” Dowdall said. “I looked Mateen in the eyes, he didn’t say one word.”
Thirteen minutes later, the alleged victim is seen on video again, this time running from the Cleaves, who can be seen chasing her and pulling her back to the room, the report states.
The struggle, prosecutors say, prove his guilt but the jury disagreed.
Cleaves, who also played six seasons in the NBA, was acquitted of four sexual assault charges on August 20.
“My wife has been by my side since day one and I want to publicly apologize to her because I shouldn’t have put her in this situation,” he told reporters after the verdict. “She didn’t deserve this … and sorry to my kids for putting them through this because they didn’t deserve this either but I am happy that the truth finally did come out.”
In an e-mailed statement, Cleaves’ attorney Frank Manley said the video was irrelevant.
“The video was presented in a Court of Law. A Jury found Mr. Cleaves Not Guilty of all charges,” Manley wrote. “The complainant had her day in Court. The criminal matter is closed. Not Guilty remains Not Guilty.”
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