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ATLANTA -- High school football star Marcus Dixon was released from the Floyd County jail Monday after the Georgia Supreme Court threw out his 10-year prison sentence for sexual offenses with a 15-year-old classmate.


Dixon had spent 15 months behind bars before being released on bond. His release was granted by Floyd County Superior Court Chief Judge Walter Matthews following an afternoon bond hearing.


Matthews ordered Dixon, 18, to stay in the county, check in with probation authorities and stay away from his high school and the girl involved in his case.


"I'm thankful to be out," Dixon said following his release. "I'm thankful to all the people who helped me. And I'm just glad to be home."


"Marcus is thrilled to be with his family, and we're thrilled to have him out of jail," his attorney, David Balser, said.


Dixon was an honors student and a football player at Pepperell High School in Rome, Ga.. He had been granted a scholarship to attend Vanderbilt, but it was revoked after his arrest. At the time, Dixon was considered among the top recruits in Vanderbilt's 2003 class.


The court ruled that Dixon should have been prosecuted on a lesser charge of misdemeanor statutory rape, rather than aggravated child molestation. He claimed that he was targeted because he is black and the girl involved is white. His case drew protests from the NAACP.


In May 2003, Floyd County prosecutors alleged that Dixon forcibly raped the 10th-grader in a trailer on the high school's campus. Dixon's attorneys argued that the sex was consensual and that the rape story was a fabrication designed so the victim could avoid trouble with her father.


Dixon claimed he met the girl -- a classmate in a home economics class -- after school three months earlier and arranged to visit her in a classroom trailer, where she was working as a student custodian.


The two reportedly had sex on a table in the back of the classroom, and the girl later told school counselors about the incident and they contacted police.


"The person I thought I knew, she was pretty smart, she was kind of laid back, but she was very talkative, friendly. She loved to joke around," Dixon told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from prison after his initial conviction. "She seemed pretty sweet to me until this went down. It was like she's a totally different person."


Jurors in the original trial acquitted Dixon of rape, aggravated assault, false imprisonment and sexual battery. The jury agreed with Dixon's claim that the sex was consensual and found no evidence to support the "forcible crimes" charges.


But Dixon was convicted of aggravated child molestation and statutory rape, primarily because of the strictness of Georgia's laws with regard to sexual activity between adolescents.


Statutory rape applies when a person has sex with anyone under age 16. But the offense is considered a misdemeanor if the victim is 14 or 15 and when the defendant is no more than three years older than the victim, which was the case in Dixon's trial.


A person commits aggravated child molestation when that person sexually molests someone under the age of 15 and injures the child. In Dixon's case, the 15-year-old victim suffered slight injuries and bruising, though a nurse and member of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network advisory board said at the time that those injuries could result from either forcible sex or if the victim were a virgin prior to having sex.


Upon learning of the ruling, members of the Georgia state House black caucus broke into applause.


One state representative said it's a "joy" to see justice provided to a young man.


The Georgia Supreme Court's ruling will let the statutory rape conviction stand. It carries a maximum one-year sentence and a $1,000 fine.


The prosecutor in the case said she will ask the justices to reconsider the ruling.


Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Sounds like he'll be a great fit in Dallas!

Sorry Gambit, I couldn't resist!

Jake wrote:Sounds like he'll be a great fit in Dallas!

Sorry Gambit, I couldn't resist!

Dayum that was very cheap and insensative, I thought alot better of you Jake.......a helluva alot better.....

nice one jake....i don't really get why you posted this gambit...i'm not trying to bust on you but why should you or i care about this guy?

who cares!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!REDSKINZ4EVER!!!!!

surferskin wrote:nice one jake....i don't really get why you posted this gambit...i'm not trying to bust on you but why should you or i care about this guy?

Oh i am sorry, I just thought u guys would be caring about an 18 year old black guy that had a 3.7 GPA a budding young football career and scholorships out the ass that got sent to jail because of false accusations of rape by a white gril 3 years younger then him, but i guess you dont care, and i guess you dont care how injustice goes on in this world ....That shows what type of people you really are deep down inside.

surferskin wrote:nice one jake....i don't really get why you posted this gambit...i'm not trying to bust on you but why should you or i care about this guy?

Also you fake surfer, surfskin.....the title of the Forum is called the lounge. Meaning the discussion of anything non-football related. You are so pressed to comment on anything i write you just had to read it and put your ignorant 2 cents in it......I bet you would not make that comment to any of your so called black friends if they bought it up, because your ass would probally get stomped out.

no if we wanted to hear about this we would turn on cnn or log on to cnn.com this is mostly a football site. and i do care but not when i'am on this redskin web site.thanks for the input.REDSKINZ4EVER!!!!

would you have posted it if the guy would have been a white guy??????JUST THINK ABOUT IT.REDSKINZ4EVER!!!!

gambit187 wrote:

surferskin wrote:nice one jake....i don't really get why you posted this gambit...i'm not trying to bust on you but why should you or i care about this guy?

Oh i am sorry, I just thought u guys would be caring about an 18 year old black guy that had a 3.7 GPA a budding young football career and scholorships out the ass that got sent to jail because of false accusations of rape by a white gril 3 years younger then him, but i guess you dont care, and i guess you dont care how injustice goes on in this world ....so *f$ck* you....That shows what type of people you really are deep down inside.

first off, this guy according to the law was GUILTY of statutory rape because he was legally an adult and she was only 15...sorry man, that's the law...he didn't get convicted of raping this girl by force...so basically he broke the law and went went to jail, is that an injustice? i guess you can assume that the judge was harder on him because he was black but that's just your opinion. i only asked you why we should care because you posted this article and made no comment about it. so quit being so sensitive.

Gambit... your post has been edited because of the profanity. This is a PG board. There are people as young as 10.

Do it again and you will be suspended for a week.

If you didn't want to hear conflicting opinions then you shouldn't have posted... people are as entitled to be as dispassionate about this as you are passionate.

Gambit, this kind of news isn't shocking. Sadly, occurences such as this are just being brushed off because the media always portrays a negative image.

Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for everyone involved in this situation but it seems that all we see in the news today is negative and involves extreme circumstances such as false allegations of rape, etc.

Sorry if I came off like an imbecile, but I'm just numb to stories like these. My apologies for offending you Gambit but with you posting that monkey flipping me off makes it very hard to apologize.

All over the country, it's sad to say that injustices are done. They are done to minorities and to non-minorities. I would suspect that, sadly, minorities suffer more.

This is the system of justice we have, however...like it or not. With all of its flaws and, arguably, its prejudices...I still think it's the best system of justice in the world.

For those that suggest that Gambit should have not posted this message on this forum, I respectfully stay that you are wrong. This is "The Lounge" where topics like this are fair game. Being "The Lounge", however, this is not the place for improper language. You should endeavor to express your opinions, as passionate as you lke, but in a way that will result in a "G" rating.

For those (few) of you that would like to read more about this story, feel free to go to: http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/05/03/teen.sex.charge.ap/index.html

Hey Gambit it always seems like its about black and white with you. Why is that?

How exactly has 'Justice' prevailed?

A jury found that a young man raped a minor. Even the man admits to the rape (sexual relations with a minor constitutes rape under Georgia statute, therefore consent was not possible). His case becomes the cause-celebre amongst several small vocal special interest groups. The Georgia Supreme Court buckles to the politcal pressure and this constitutes JUSTICE?

I agree with your assessment, Curveball. I think the point that Gambit et al. are trying to make (and correct me if I'm wrong) is that even though some acts are considered "criminal" in nature, they are often selectively enforced. If that is the case, then it is up to the justice system to put the police on notice that selective enforcement is improper. Maybe that's what the Georgia Supreme Court is doing here....then again, maybe not. I dunno.

I apologize for the profanity guys........

SKINS STILL SUCK

This is the story of a MAJOR legal injustice, please read below:

The following is a story that is both shocking and outrageous and should never happen in America. This situation so infuriates us that we are doing everything we can to change the outcome. One of the acts for justice we are encouraging people to take is signing our online petition calling for Marcus’s sentence to be overturned.

There is an 18 year-old African American honor student -- Marcus Dixon -- in Rome, Georgia who is spending 10 years in prison for having consensual sex with a white classmate who was just three months shy of 16 years old at the time they had sex. The Georgia Supreme Court heard Marcus’s appeal on Jan. 21, 2004 and will issue its ruling within months.

Although the jury acquitted Marcus of rape and three other counts of violent acts, the prosecutor also charged him with "aggravated child molestation." Consensual sex with a virgin fits into the technical reading of this Georgia statute. The statute has never been applied to consensual sex between two teenagers with less than three years age difference, until now. We believe the result is a horrible injustice, especially because Marcus overcame a troubled childhood to excel in academics and athletics.


1. HE NEVER ADMITTED TO RAPE
2. IT WAS CONSENUAL SEX, THE GIRL ADMITTED TO IT.


So some over zealous D.A. (No offense Justice Hog), wanted to see him suffer.

He did admit to rape. A person fifteen years old cannot consent to intercourse ergo admitting to sexual relations with a minor makes the force/consent issue moot.

Whether she was 3 months shy of 16 or 6 years shy is irrelevant under Georgia law.


If you want to argue that mandatory minimums are draconian in their application, I will agree, but that is a seperate issue.

So Curveball you have never had sex with a girl younger then you. I am 33 years old.......I remember very vividly my high school years..........and girls the same age as me did not date guys there same age. Thats just B.S. The majority of couples in america consist of an older male and a younger female. Why because women are mentally 3-5 years older then there age and us men are 3-5 years mentally younger then are age. Thats just the way the world is. I am sure intercourse between 15 year old girls and 16-18 year old guys goes on all the time, but because of the town and the race of the individuals involved this young man was punished.

Gambit, in support of curveball's position...I think he is merely saying this: Maybe we all did have sex with girls younger than us...but that is not the issue here.

In Delaware, for example, when I was young, the "age of consent" was 16, but anyone over 12 (believe it or not) could consent to have sex with someone within 4 years of their age. If I were 19 3/4 and wanted to have sex with a 15 1/2 year old (which was just over 4 years difference), it would be legally wrong...even though the 15 year old consented.

Like Georgia, the issue is "not" consent. The issue is whether the statute prohibits the certain type of sexual conduct. If it does, like it or not, then Dixon should be held accountable for his actions.

Although I hear what your argument is...I think you should also concede the fact that Dixon, in fact, did something illegal...and he should be held accountable for his actions. Is 10 years appropriate? Probably not...but he should be a convicted sex offender for what he did.

Justice Hog wrote:Gambit, in support of curveball's position...I think he is merely saying this: Maybe we all did have sex with girls younger than us...but that is not the issue here.

In Delaware, for example, when I was young, the "age of consent" was 16, but anyone over 12 (believe it or not) could consent to have sex with someone within 4 years of their age. If I were 19 3/4 and wanted to have sex with a 15 1/2 year old (which was just over 4 years difference), it would be legally wrong...even though the 15 year old consented.

Like Georgia, the issue is "not" consent. The issue is whether the statute prohibits the certain type of sexual conduct. If it does, like it or not, then Dixon should be held accountable for his actions.

Although I hear what your argument is...I think you should also concede the fact that Dixon, in fact, did something illegal...and he should be held accountable for his actions. Is 10 years appropriate? Probably not...but he should be a convicted sex offender for what he did.

If that is the case then Justice,,,,,,,then every person male or female that violates that law thould be punished. And the D.A. should and all parents should go after offenders with the same zealous that these people showed. He prosecuted with extreme prejudice. I dont think his past record (which was outstanding) warrented any amount of time in jail.

I hope he gets a good lawyer and gets paid.

So this guy got downgraded from "rapist" to "pervert"?

I don't get it, where's the victory?

Yes, I am disgusted by false rape allegations, and IMO anyone who fabricates rape charges should be prosecuted... but a senior having sex with a sophomore is still creepy. I mean, the tragedy in this story is not abuse of the legal system (none happened as far as I can tell, the abuse was the girl's who used her power in the situation to get Dixon in more trouble) the tragedy of this story is Dixon's own stupidity and lust that cost him a stellar college career.

His life is forever changed because he can't keep it in his pants.

whatever...I don't have a problem with a senior trying to get in a sophomore's pants

and as far as his life being changed...this kid will probably sign a deal with Nike or Reebok before it's all said and done

he can't be that great...he was supposed to go to vandy and we all know what football power they are.