| MEMPHIS, TN – Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons announced Monday that the state Grand Jury for Shelby County had indicted two Ohio men accused of committing a sexual assault while in Memphis for a high school lacrosse tournament.
On Thursday, March 8, 2007, the Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Dustin Pentz, 26, and Gregory Simpson, 28, each for aggravated rape and two counts of assault. Under Tennessee law, an indictment is not a public record until the defendant is in custody. It is also against Tennessee law to confirm that a case is going to be presented to the Grand Jury until it has been and the defendant is in custody.
Pentz and Simpson, who both reside in Columbus, Ohio, turned themselves into the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday, March 18. Both were released on $50,000 bonds. An arraignment date has not been set.
According to an incident report taken by the Dublin (Ohio) Police Department, the defendants were lacrosse coaches at Dublin Coffman High School and the incident happened on March 26, 2006 while the team was aboard a chartered bus in Shelby County. Because of the nature of the crime, the victim’s identity cannot be released.
Aggravated rape is a Class A felony, punishable by a standard sentence of 15-25 years in prison without parole. Assault is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum sentence of 11 months, 29 days in prison. |