UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA QB JORDAN JOHNSON CHARGED WITH RAPE COULD FACE 2 YRS IN PRISON

University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson has been charged with rape, making him the second member of the team to face formal charges of sexual assault, as school and local officials face a federal probe into their handling of 80 reported rapes in the college town of Missoula in the past three years.
Johnson, 20, was charged late Tuesday with a felony count of sexual intercourse without consent, the Missoula County District Attorney’s office said.
If convicted, he could face two years in prison.
Johnson was immediately suspended from the Grizzlies football team, which was scheduled to start practice Monday, the team newspaper said.
The allegations against Johnson first surfaced in March. A fellow student, identified as “Jane Doe,” accused Johnson of assaulting her in her bedroom on Feb. 4.
Prosecutors said the two had been watching a movie together and began kissing. According to the victim, Johnson became aggressive when she resisted his advances and allegedly said “I will make you,” according to court documents.
Johnson maintains the sex was consensual and "looks forward to the opportunity to prove his innocence at trial,” Johnson's attorney, David Paoli, said in a statement.
Johnson was the second Grizzly player this year to be charged with rape. His teammate, running back Beau Donaldson, pleaded not guilty in January to raping a woman as she slept in his residence. He was also suspended from the team.

The allegations against the players were among a string of reported sexual assaults n Missoula, a picturesque mountain town of 86,000 that is now part of a U.S. Justice Department probe into how city and university officials investigated and prosecutes those cases.
There have been 80 reported rapes in Missoula in the past three years and 11 reported assaults at the university since 2010.
The NCAA in January notified the university it was conducting its own investigation into the Grizzlies football program.
Both school and city officials have said they would cooperate with the investigations.
Local authorities say the incidence of rape in the city is on par with similarly sized college towns.
Last year, Johnson led the Grizzlies to an 11-3 record in the Big Sky Conference.