Former LSU running back pleads innocent to sex charge
GONZALES — Former LSU running back Charles Edward Scott pleaded innocent Thursday to one count of sexual battery of an 18-year-old woman.
Ascension Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Scott, 23, 36604 Plantation Blvd., Prairieville, on a count of simple rape on Nov. 13, deputies have said.
Assistant District Attorney Robin O’Bannon filed a bill of information for the lesser charge of sexual battery on Monday against Scott, the seventh-leading career rusher at LSU.
Scott, also a former Louisiana high school Mr. Football at Jonesboro-Hodge High School, entered the plea before Judge Guy Holdridge in 23rd Judicial District Court. The district encompasses Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes.
“Not guilty, your honor,” Scott told Holdridge as Scott’s attorney stood by his side in an Ascension Parish Courthouse Annex courtroom.
After the hearing, Scott’s private defense attorney, Andre Gauthier, noted the gravity of the state’s charge against Scott had diminished since the time of Scott’s arrest.
Gauthier said his client was accused at the time of his arrest with rape — an allegation publicized in the news media, he noted — but after prosecutors did DNA swabs “on him and her,” the state’s charge of rape evolved into sexual battery.
“What does that tell you?” Gauthier asked.
District Attorney Rick Babin said Gauthier might want to double-check the DNA swabs. He said his office charges the proper crime based on the evidence.
“That’s what the crime is, and that’s it,” Babin said in a later interview.
Under state law, sexual battery involves improper touching without the victim’s consent, while rape involves intercourse without consent.
Conviction on a simple-rape count can bring a prison sentence of up to 25 years. Conviction for sexual battery typically brings up to 10 years in prison, though some special conditions can lead to a far-stiffer sentence.
District Judge Ralph Tureau has been assigned the case, Holdridge said. The next hearing date is April 16.
Scott is out on bail of $35,000, sheriff’s deputies have said.
Scott’s best season at LSU was his first of two as a starter in 2008, when he rushed for 1,174 yards on 217 carries. He led the SEC with 18 rushing touchdowns in an all-SEC season. He has 2,317 career yards at LSU.
He was picked in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and spent parts of two seasons on the practice squads of the Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants.