Knott's hearing begins 

FREE PRESS STAFF REPORTS

Michigan State football recruit Eric Knott's sexual-assault hearing got underway Friday with defense attorneys seeking to suppress a statement police say Knott made to them.

According to police, Knott admitted having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped in July 1999.

The hearing, before Judge Deborah Thomas in Wayne County Circuit Court, will be continued Sept. 5.

Knott is charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The statement is important, because it would bolster the prosecution case if admitted.

Friday, defense attorneys suggested Knott gave the statement the morning he was arrested because a police investigator told him he could face nothing more than probation.

But the investigator denied telling Knott about a so-called "diversion program," and said Knott understood his rights before making his statement.

Knott, 18, was a star tight end at Detroit Henry Ford last year. He was charged in the case with Henry Ford teammate Damon Dowdell and a third individual.

Dowdell's jury trial on lesser charges starts Tuesday in juvenile court. He can be incarcerated only until he turns 19, but can be held by a judge until age 21.

Like Knott, Dowdell was an MSU football recruit. Dowdell signed a letter of intent to accept an athletic scholarship to the school, but his admission has been delayed pending the outcome of his case.

Knott did not sign a letter of intent. He said in January that he planned to accept a scholarship to MSU.

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