Ex-Griz RB Donaldson makes plea deal in rape case

MISSOULA (AP) — Former University of Montana running back Beau Donaldson plans to plead guilty to sexual intercourse without consent after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors, his attorney said Tuesday.

Defense attorney Milt Datsopolous' announcement followed a court hearing in which he and prosecutors confirmed the plea deal.

Prosecutors said Donaldson raped a female acquaintance while she slept on his couch after drinking alcohol at a party in September 2010. Court records say he acknowledged the assault during a monitored telephone conversation in December.

Donaldson was charged in January and had been scheduled to go to trial later this month. Datsopolous said Donaldson instead will plead guilty at a Sept. 11 court hearing.

The sexual intercourse without consent charge carries a penalty of two years to life in prison. Assistant County Attorney Shaun Donovan said he will seek prison time for Donaldson when he is sentenced in November.

Donaldson played mostly on special teams last fall before being injured late in the season. The 2008 graduate of Missoula Big Sky High School missed the 2010 season with a leg injury.

Donaldson is one of two ex-Griz players facing charges in a sexual assault scandal on campus that has led to investigations by the U.S. Justice and Education departments and the NCAA.

The federal investigations, announced this spring, are looking into how the school and city responded to the allegations.

A university investigation earlier this year found nine allegations of sexual assault that had gone unreported over 18 months, and two others have been made public since then.

One of those cases is against Jordan Johnson, who was Montana's starting quarterback until prosecutors filed charges against him in July.

Johnson has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent. Prosecutors say he raped an acquaintance while the two were watching a movie in February.

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