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Duke rape suspect faces assault trial in D.C.
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YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSWASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Duke University lacrosse player charged with raping an exotic dancer at a team party will face trial in Washington in an unrelated assault case. A July 10 trial date has been set for Collin Finnerty, 19, on a simple assault charge after an altercation in November. District of Columbia Superior Court Judge John Bayly ruled Finnerty's arrest in the Duke rape case violated the terms of an earlier agreement made after his November 5 arrest in Georgetown, according to The Associated Press. In the Washington case, Finnerty had been given 25 hours of community service. Finnerty's attorneys asked the judge to put off the trial until after the rape charges in Durham, North Carolina, are resolved, but Bayly refused. According to the AP, Finnerty showed no emotion during Tuesday's hearing. The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, reported on its Web site that Finnerty and two co-defendants also were given a curfew of 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., were ordered to stay away from any place where alcohol is sold or drunk, and must call court officials each Friday. "I want to make clear, however, that this incident has been grossly mischaracterized," attorney Steven J. McCool told Washington TV station WJLA, referring to reports that Finnerty allegedly called the complainant gay. "This is not and has not been charged as a bias-related allegation." The simple assault charge carries a potential penalty of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Finnerty and Duke lacrosse teammate Reade Seligmann, 20, are charged in North Carolina with first-degree sexual offense, first-degree forcible rape and first-degree kidnapping stemming from the March 14 incident. Attorneys for both students, who have been suspended by Duke, maintain their clients are innocent. They are scheduled to appear in a Durham court on May 15. The accuser, a 27-year-old single mother and a student at North Carolina Central University, was hired as an exotic dancer at a lacrosse team party where she said she was raped. She told police three white men pulled her into a bathroom and assaulted her. District Attorney Mike Nifong has said investigators are trying to identify a third suspect. CNN's Paul Courson contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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