Former Utah State football player gets jail time in 2019 sex abuse case

LOGAN — A former Utah State University football player will spend time in jail after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a woman in 2019.

Lamar Anthony Dawson, 26, was sentenced to six months in jail and four years of probation during a sentencing hearing Monday morning. Dawson pleaded guilty to one count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, in March, according to charging documents.

Initial charging documents say that the assault took place on Feb. 14, 2019. Dawson and the woman were texting back and forth, according to an affidavit filed in the case. The woman says in multiple text messages that she had been drinking and was intoxicated. She later said in a text message that he could come over to "cuddle" but "don't expect sex because I'm not in the right mindset to make that decision," the affidavit says.

Dawson later arrived at the woman's residence, and the affidavit says the woman only remembered "various moments" of the assault. Police found semen on the woman's bed sheets, according to the affidavit.

Dawson and the woman exchanged texts the next morning, the affidavit says, and when she asked him if they had sex, he said they did not. When police later spoke with Dawson, they said he admitted to having sex with the woman that night. Dawson also told police that he was afraid the woman was "trying to 'pin' something on him," the affidavit says.

The woman was later evaluated at a local hospital, and a sexual assault exam was taken. Toxicology reports showed that the woman had a blood alcohol content of .04 roughly 10 hours after the assault. Police estimated the woman's blood alcohol level had been as high as 0.14 or 0.29, the affidavit says.

Court records show Dawson pleaded guilty to the second-degree felony in March. During the sentencing hearing Monday, 1st District Judge Angela Fonnesbeck opted to suspend Dawson's potential term of one to 15 years in prison and ordered him to serve the jail time.

Utah State's website shows Dawson was last on the Aggies' roster in 2018 when he was listed as a sophomore cornerback from Chicago. Previous KSL reporting indicates that police learned Dawson was suspended from team activities after they spoke with him about the assault.

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