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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A plea deal that allowed former Minnesota
Viking Ted Brown to avoid trial on sexual misconduct charges was
thrown out Tuesday. The three-judge appeals panel said District Court Judge Michael
Jesse was wrong to allow the plea over the objections of a
prosecutor. The appeals court sent the case back to Mille Lacs
County for further proceedings. Brown, a running back from 1979-86, entered a plea agreement
last summer that allowed him to end the case without a trial but
also without admitting guilt. He was charged with sexually
assaulting a woman during the Vikings 2003 "Arctic Blast" event
at Eddy's Resort on Mille Lacs Lake. In exchange for the plea,
Brown was ordered to complete community service and keep a clean
record. The appeals panel, led by retired Judge Gary Crippen, concluded
that the prosecutor withdrew the plea deal before its acceptance.
The prosecutor said he needed to notify the alleged victim of the
proposed plea before formally entering into it. The victim objected
to the deal, but Jesse enforced the agreement anyway. Brown was indicted by a grand jury in late 2003 on charges of
first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Prosecutors
alleged that Brown forced sex on an intoxicated woman. His lawyer, Steven Meshbesher, said his client hasn't settled on
his next move. He has the option of appealing Tuesday's decision to
the Supreme Court. "We are going to zealously fight this thing as we have from the
beginning because Ted Brown is innocent of any criminal activity,"
Meshbesher said, adding, "We thought we had it resolved and now we
don't." Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Kolb didn't immediately return a
call for comment.
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