Duke University lacrosse player Collin Finnerty, arrested in the alleged rape of an exotic dancer in April, stood trial in D.C. Monday for separate misdemeanor assault charges stemming from a Georgetown brawl.
Finnerty, wearing an oversized dark-blue blazer, white shirt and greentie, sat quietly as attorneys questioned witnesses. He faces up to six months of jail time if convicted. As of late Monday, the prosecution had rested and the trial was expected to go another day.
Finnerty and two other lacrosse players from different schools had been placed in a first-time offender program for allegedly attacking two real estate developers in Georgetown last fall. But authorities said Finnerty violated the terms of that program by being charged in the rape case in Raleigh, N.C.
Scott Herndon and Jeff O. Bloxsom, both 27, testified Monday that they were surrounded by Finnerty and four or five more young men after walking out of a Georgetown bar, Third Edition. The young men continued to harass and threaten them for nearly 30 minutes as the two tried to make their way north on Wisconsin Avenue, they testified.
Herndon ran into The Daily Grill and asked a bouncer for help. “My friend and I are going to get killed!” he reportedly told the man. Herndon said he ran back outside and grabbed Finnerty around the waist from behind. Herndon was struck from behind and fell to his hands and knees where he was pummeled a dozen times, he said. Herndon showed the shirt he was wearing, which was torn nearly in half.
Bloxsom suffered a bloody lip, according to the police report.
The AP contributed to this report.
