Jury finds Quintez Cephus not guilty on sexual assault charges (updated with reaction video, interviews)
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
A Facebook page to help raise funds for his defense was started a few weeks ago.
A jury in Madison, Wisc. deliberated for less than an hour Friday before finding Quintez Cephus not guilty of two sexual assault charges.
The four-day trial came to a conclusion around 5 p.m. on Friday with the announcement.
Cephus was on trial one count of second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim and one count of third-degree sexual assault.
Cephus was a budding star wide receiver for the Badgers. He played in 23 games in two seasons, starting 13. Cephus caught 34 passes for 595 yards and six touchdowns.
He missed five games as a sophomore with a leg injury.
His father, Andre Taylor, was shot and killed a little more than a year before the incident in Madison, gunned down at a gas station on Montpelier Avenue in Macon. Taylor was a longtime gang member and drug dealer, and while he was involved in Cephusâs life, albeit not on a daily basis, he worked to keep his son on a straight path even if he couldnât stay on one.
Taylorâs killer, Calvin Stapleton, was convicted of murder a year ago next week.
Closing arguments began around 3:30 p.m. Friday with the prosecution followed by the defense. Deliberations began a little after 4 p.m.
The Stratford graduate was charged last August, about four months after the incidents. He Tweeted a warning that he was facing a legal situation and was taking a leave of absence from the team.
Soon after, he was suspended from the team, and then expelled in the spring semester. Previously somewhat active on social media, he has Tweeted only once since then.
He filed suit against the university, stating the disciplinary investigation violated his rights. It was dropped, but may be re-filed.
An all-white jury of eight women and six men was seated on Monday.
WISC-TV
Cephus spent about two hours on the witness stand Friday morning, admitting some mistakes in judgment but maintaining that two women who have accused him of sexual assault were the ones perusing physical interaction.
He said one of the women expressed her attraction to him throughout that evening, with public displays that made him uncomfortable. She reportedly talked of a sleepover.
He said their intentions became clear when one went in his bedroom and disrobed, and was joined by the other one, all voluntarily.
Cephus admitted initially lying to police about taking a picture of the situation, when in fact it was teammate Danny Davis who took a picture. Davis testified that taking the picture was wrong, and it was deleted shortly thereafter.
He said the picture was a main reason for being in the situation he was in.
âI saw he had a phone in his hand and it was just like ⊠it was something Iâd never done before,â Cephus said.
Cephus had sex with one woman, and then the other. He used a condom.
One woman became upset and left, with the group following. There were some inconsistencies in what happened after the sexual interaction.
Cephus, who did not drink that night, made sure that both women made it home safely, and that âthey know what happened.â
One media report stated that prosecutor William Brown âfired questions at Cephus, who remained calm and answered questions clearly. At one point Dane County Judge William Hanrahan told Brown to slow down.
"You are trying to confuse me into all this," Cephus told Brown.
A Facebook page to help raise funds for his defense had been started.
Information used from assorted media reports
Post-decision
WISC-TV, Channel 3000 (video of verdict reading, reaction, interviews)
WKOW-27 ABC (video of verdict reading, reaction, interviews)
WMTV-15 NBC (video of verdict reading, reaction, interviews
WKOW-27 ABC reporterâs Twitter)
Friday, pre-decision
WKOW-27 ABC reporterâs Twitter
From Thursday
WMTV-15 NBC
From Wednesday
WMSN-47 Fox
From Tuesday