A Naval Academy football player accused of raping a female midshipman at an off-campus party this summer was indicted yesterday by an Anne Arundel County grand jury.
The indictment charges Shaka Amin Martin, 21, of Danville, Va., with second-degree rape and assault. Martin, the third Naval Academy football player charged in the incident on June 30, was released on $50,000 bail. If convicted, the starting linebacker could face a 30-year prison sentence.
Police said at least half a dozen midshipmen attended a small party in Arnold where heavy drinking was taking place. At some point, police said, the female midshipman went to a bedroom and was assaulted there.
Martin, a junior, was arrested Oct. 23. Police said a sample of Martin's DNA matched evidence taken from the scene.
According to police charging documents, two other academy football players - Cordrea Brittingham of Berlin and Arion Keith Williams of Detroit - said they had sex with the female midshipman.
Police said she was unconscious at the time, which attorneys for the two dispute.
The female midshipman told police she awoke to find Williams and Brittingham assaulting her, according to original charging documents in June.
In the only mention of Martin, police wrote, "Sometime during the night, [Martin] opened the door to the bedroom" and saw Williams in the room with the victim. "He didn't see anything else and immediately closed the door."
Deputy State's Attorney William D. Roessler said whether two or all three midshipmen would be tried together has not been decided. He said prosecutors are continuing DNA tests on evidence from the scene.
Judge Clayton Greene Jr. postponed the trials of Williams and Brittingham, which were to start Thursday. He has also ruled that the victim's counseling records cannot be viewed by the defense.
But the defense has filed other pretrial motions and is seeking pretrial hearings.
No date has been set for either the hearings or trial.
Martin has been suspended from the academy football team pending the outcome of the case.
Sun staff writer Andrea F. Siegel contributed to this article.
