Ex-Bronco expressed surprised woman was pregnant

P. SOLOMON BANDA Associated Press Published:

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) -- Former Denver Broncos cornerback Perrish Cox told a judge Thursday that he wouldn't testify at his sexual assault trial, a decision that came after jurors saw video of him expressing shock that the alleged victim was pregnant and that he was accused of raping her.

Cox is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his apartment over Labor Day weekend 2010. The woman testified Wednesday, saying she had a fuzzy memory of what happened that night and suspected she had been drugged after waking up feeling sick the next day.



"I never raped nobody," Cox told the detective as both talked in a loud voice. "I'm losing it because, seriously, I never touched this girl."



Cox also told the detectives that another girl, Carthy Che, was at the apartment, and he could have had sex with her if he wanted sex.

Prosecutors placed Hipp and another detective on the stand Thursday morning before finishing with their case. The defense rested its case shortly afterward and closing arguments were expected later Thursday.


Prosecutors Chris Gallo and Bob Chappell presented a straightforward case: Cox denies having sex with the woman, who can't recall having sex that night but became pregnant and Cox's DNA matched the fetus.

Cox's attorney, Harvey Steinberg, sought to paint a picture of drunkenness and failed sexual relations between Thomas and the woman, and possible sexual relations between the woman and Carthy Che, a woman Cox was dating at the time.


Both Thomas and the woman testified that they kissed during a car ride to Cox's apartment from a nightclub and then kissed again while on an air mattress in Cox's living room. The woman testified she doesn't remember much after kissing Thomas.



She said she went to a hospital the next day, but left before police could arrive and collect evidence because she didn't want to falsely accuse anybody when she wasn't sure something happened. She contacted police on Oct. 28, 2010, after learning she was pregnant.

Thomas testified that Cox carried the sleeping woman to his bed and told Thomas, "I think she's ready." Steinberg objected, arguing Thomas he hadn't used the "she's ready" phrase in a previous interview, and he asked for a mistrial. District Judge Paul King declined.

