William & Mary kicker George Eberle charged with felony breaking & entering and misdemeanor sexual battery for allegedly breaking into a woman’s home and groping her.


https://t.co/YDxznu7vr4?amp=1


If this is true. he should be gone. no damn debate. absolutely disgusting.

WAVY-10 just broadcast the same, although they didn’t have any info about the crime, just that Eberle, “a William and Mary football player,” had been arrested.

I hope the alleged victim stays strong. Terrible.



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(02-10-2020 05:28 PM)Tribal Wrote:  I hope the alleged victim stays strong. Terrible.



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+ a million.

Horrific. My thoughts and prayers are with her. I believe sexual assault survivors. I hope the team and our great W&M community rally behind her.


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All right. I will be the contrarian.

Duke lacrosse team.

Innocent until proven guilty.

The charge is either accurate, false, or somewhere in between.

Let it play out.

(02-10-2020 05:53 PM)nj alum Wrote:  All right. I will be the contrarian.

Duke lacrosse team.

Innocent until proven guilty.

The charge is either accurate, false, or somewhere in between.

Let it play out.

This is a good position to take, so long as it doesn't turn into attacks on the alleged victim for now. (For the record, I'm agreeing with your POV)

More from the Flat Hat:

http://flathatnews.com/2020/02/18/colleg...dB2lU4YSkY

I think that we will find out that there is more to the story.

I hope so. If he did as described by the Flat Hat, he sounds out of an episode of Criminal Minds. Breaking and entering and sexually assaulting a woman that he didn't know. If this is true, he belongs in jail.

I certainly don't excuse any unwanted sexual contact. However, my question is if they didn't know each other, how did the police know to go directly out and locate Eberle the next morning? Did she recognize him, but not know him?

The charges are weird too. Felony breaking and entering and misdemeanor sexual battery. Breaking and entering is generally a misdemeanor unless combined with a felony (like burglary). Defined as "an unlawful entry, by force, into a residence, building or other enclosed property." According to the article, there was no damage or injury. Strange that the result of the B&E is a misdemeanor charge and they went with the felony B&E charge. Sexual battery is defined as "touching and not sexual intercourse or penetration, it can be a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances. The crime can be a felony if it involves: skin to skin contact (without clothing)." Eberle was charged with the misdemeanor.

So, by the elements of the charges, Eberle forced his way in to the complainant's apartment and touched her with her clothes on.

IMO, It is a strange choice of charges to run with. I think charging a misdemeanor sexual battery kind of blows the felony B&E charge. Unless a lot more comes out in court not in the charging documents, It really won't surprise me to see the case thrown out or Eberle just given probation.

(02-18-2020 08:39 PM)mrjoolius Wrote:  The charges are weird too. Felony breaking and entering and misdemeanor sexual battery. Breaking and entering is generally a misdemeanor unless combined with a felony (like burglary). Defined as "an unlawful entry, by force, into a residence, building or other enclosed property." According to the article, there was no damage or injury. Strange that the result of the B&E is a misdemeanor charge and they went with the felony B&E charge. Sexual battery is defined as "touching and not sexual intercourse or penetration, it can be a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances. The crime can be a felony if it involves: skin to skin contact (without clothing)." Eberle was charged with the misdemeanor.

So, by the elements of the charges, Eberle forced his way in to the complainant's apartment and touched her with her clothes on.

IMO, It is a strange choice of charges to run with. I think charging a misdemeanor sexual battery kind of blows the felony B&E charge. Unless a lot more comes out in court not in the charging documents, It really won't surprise me to see the case thrown out or Eberle just given probation.

There's no such thing as misdemeanor breaking and entering. It's always a felony. There's trespassing which is a misdemeanor but that's a different charge with different elements. There's different types of B&E depending on whether there's intent to commit a violent felony, larceny/non-violent felonies or a misdemeanor. They carry different potential penalties.

Sexual battery is pretty broad. Technically if you wanted you could charge rape as sexual battery, though that isn't likely. Felony aggravated sexual battery has some pretty specific requirements involving the victim being underage, mentally incapacitated, serious injury or use of a weapon. The fact that it's sexual battery and not one of the various specific felony charges is probably a good thing for George.

Thanks for the legal clarification Rocco. I don't know all the ins and outs of VA law, but I find it interesting.

I'm curious when the details come out- what force was used to trigger the B&E charge? Did he force open a door or window? The Flat Hat said there was no damage, though I know damage isn't required for the charge. If it turns out he entered through an unlocked door/window, why was the charge not misdemeanor illegal trespass? To prove felony B&E, wouldn't you need to prove that the intent of his unauthorized entry was to commit a crime? If a link can be made between Eberle and the complainant - ie. They did know each other or they were hanging out together that evening at a party, it hurts the case. If the door was not forced & it is proved they knew each other, it doesn't seem a heavy lift to claim that he was invited over. That doesn't mean Eberle acted appropriately, but being familiar does change how the case is framed. There is a lot of vagueness in the initial reports that need to be fleshed out to get the big picture.

It's probably best to wait on legal proceedings. At the end of the day, a very young man and young woman have had their worlds turned upside down. It's tragic no matter how we look at it. All we know is George was arrested based on the alleged victim's complaint. Expert investigators, lawyers, and the justice system are on the case.

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(02-19-2020 06:02 AM)mrjoolius Wrote:  Thanks for the legal clarification Rocco. I don't know all the ins and outs of VA law, but I find it interesting.

I'm curious when the details come out- what force was used to trigger the B&E charge? Did he force open a door or window? The Flat Hat said there was no damage, though I know damage isn't required for the charge. If it turns out he entered through an unlocked door/window, why was the charge not misdemeanor illegal trespass? To prove felony B&E, wouldn't you need to prove that the intent of his unauthorized entry was to commit a crime? If a link can be made between Eberle and the complainant - ie. They did know each other or they were hanging out together that evening at a party, it hurts the case. If the door was not forced & it is proved they knew each other, it doesn't seem a heavy lift to claim that he was invited over. That doesn't mean Eberle acted appropriately, but being familiar does change how the case is framed. There is a lot of vagueness in the initial reports that need to be fleshed out to get the big picture.

A) The mere act of pushing an unlocked door open can constitute a breaking. Whether it ends up as a conviction for B&E if the force used for entry is another story.

B) Prosecutors/police generally charge the most serious thing they can and work from there. It's easier to amend charges down than amend them upwards.

C) If he committed a crime after committing B&E, the intent part is satisfied.

There are two sides to every story

This whole situation seems unclear on the facts and the College response reinforces the opinion.

Off the roster.

Seems all involved would've waited for the legal process to work through the issue.

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Seems George is ready to move on. He entered the transfer portal and posted a video of him kicking. 5 months after his arrest...I guess the criminal proceedings worked out in his favor.

"Back on my grind after entering the transfer portal. Had a great time at W&M and appreciative for my coaches. It was an honor to play there along with earning freshman all American honors. Here’s a few hits from training this past weekend (45 4.8, 47 5.2, 50 4.6)"

A great loss of talent to our program

So, were the charges dropped? Why would any school bring on a transfer with pending felony charges?