Knott's confession will be kept from jury 

BY JEMELE HILL
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Football star Eric Knott scored a victory in court Wednesday when a judge suppressed a potentially damaging statement he made in a sexual assault case.

The ruling, handed down by Wayne County Circuit Judge Deborah Thomas, eliminated a major piece of evidence in the case against Knott, who is charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct and faces life in prison if convicted.

Detroit police said Knott admitted having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl, who said she had been raped. Thomas ruled that police intimidated Knott into giving the statement about the July 1999, incident.

"We're very elated," said Cornelius Pitts, Knott's lawyer. "We're enthused we're able to proceed further."

Knott, a former tight end at Detroit Henry Ford, was one of the most highly recruited players in the country last season. He committed to Michigan State, but the Spartans didn't sign him after charges against him became public.

Thomas' ruling allows the long-delayed case to go to trial. Jury selection is expected to begin Nov. 20, although Pitts intimated that a deal might be struck before then. Former Henry Ford quarterback Damon Dowdell, accused in the same case, pleaded no-contest last month to a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery.

In arguing to suppress Knott's statement, Pitts said Knott was held by police for nine hours, and three of those he spent shackled to a chair in a room by himself. He then was taken to the ninth floor of police headquarters, where he was isolated in a cell for roughly four or five hours, Pitts said.

Thomas criticized police, saying Knott's treatment "was designed to be oppressive. He was arrested in the middle of the night and shackled to a desk like a dog to a stick for three hours."

Knott testified that he was not allowed to call his mother and that he asked for an attorney the morning after he was arrested, but did not receive one. Knott also said he made a statement to police because an investigator said he likely would get probation and the charges would be dropped.

Prosecutor Dave McCreedy attempted to show that Knott's treatment was similar to what others receive when accused of sexual offenses. Police Lt. Michael Walsh, who heads the sex crimes unit, said the accused in similar cases are isolated and not allowed to make phone calls because there is a fear they might try to contact the victim or other defendants not in custody. The accused are allowed to call an attorney if they ask to do so, Walsh said.

McCreedy also said Knott was fully aware of the police form he signed the night of his arrest, which acknowledged that he knew he had a right to an attorney and the right to remain silent.

Knott has not played football since last season, but Pitts said six colleges have contacted him about Knott in the past week. Pitts acknowledged that MSU was still recruiting Knott.

Dowdell has enrolled at Michigan State and has been in uniform for the Spartans' two games, although he hasn't played.

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