Three Bengals Facing Life In Prison Arraignment Ordered On Charge Of Rape Involving 14-Year-Olds

Three current and former Idaho State University football players were formally charged with statutory rape Monday and ordered to appear in district court for arraignment next week.

Sixth District Judge Peter McDermott released the three on their own recognizance after handing them the official grand jury indictments.

Ike Johnson, 22, and Thomas Washington, 21, both starters on the 1994 Bengals team, were each charged with one count of statutory rape, and Derrick Carter, 22, who quit the team after the ninth game last season, was charged with two counts.

All three face maximum penalties of life in prison.

The alleged rapes, which occurred between February and April, involved 14-year-old girls.

McDermott ordered all three to appear Aug. 7 to enter pleas.

The appearances were only the last evidence of the off-field controversy that has plagued Idaho State’s football program. An assistant coach admitted to taking a test for a player and players have complained that head coach Brian McNeely required players to participate in religious gatherings. Last year, the university investigated an alleged gang rape, finding no evidence to support the claim, and early this year a battery-rape complaint was made against a player and then dropped.

A fourth ex-football player, Marcus Tolliver, who played in 1990, has been indicted on unrelated charges of drug delivery and trafficking.