Rapists Get 5-Year Terms for Attack on Friend

Two former Marymount College basketball players, convicted of raping a fellow student from the small Rancho Palos Verdes campus, were sentenced Wednesday to five years in state prison.

Bryon Flournoy, 23, and Warren Cox, 20, bowed their heads silently as Long Beach Superior Court Judge Michael G. Nott sentenced them to the minimum term allowed by state law.

Several of the more than a dozen friends and relatives who appeared in court to show support for the men quietly wiped away tears as the pair were placed in custody. The men had remained free on $50,000 bail after their jury conviction last month on four counts of rape in concert.

Nott, who called the case “one of the most difficult I’ve had to decide,� said he has agonized over how to handle the sentencing, because of the particular circumstances of the crime and the clean records of the men.

“I’ve spent every night since this case was decided trying to figure out what to do,� he said.

Nott recommended that the state Department of Corrections place Flournoy and Cox in a fire camp facility or some other non-traditional prison setting.

The 23-year-old victim testified during the trial that she had been visiting Flournoy, Cox and three other acquaintances at the men’s San Pedro apartment for several hours before the Feb. 23 rape.

The entire group had been drinking large amounts of beer, she testified, and eventually she ended up in a playful wrestling match with Flournoy and Cox in the apartment’s bedroom. She testified that during the game the men suddenly pinned her to the floor, removed her clothes and raped her repeatedly.

According to a probation report, the woman has required extensive psychiatric counseling because of the incident.

Flournoy and Cox, however, testified that the woman voluntarily had sex with them and did not become upset until after another person walked into the room, catching them in the act.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth Lamb urged Nott to sentence the men, who faced as much as 36 years in prison, to at least 16 years for the crimes.

“When a stranger violates your life, you’re terrified and abused,� Lamb said. “But when a friend violates your trust, that causes more than that nightmare. They take away your ability to trust, your ability to have faith in a friend.�

Although state law does not allow a judge to grant probation in cases involving rape in concert, defense attorneys for both men argued that Nott should grant probation anyway.

Both argued that the mandatory minimum sentence of five years is unconstitutional because it represents a cruel and unusual punishment for this particular crime.

“My problem with the sentencing scheme in these cases is it doesn’t take into consideration any of the factors or circumstances,� attorney Stephen Peacock argued to the court.

“You have a situation where the victim invited the whole group, five males and herself, to Palm Springs for the weekend, she bought a case and a half of beer for them, she danced in front of them, she initiated a wrestling match,� according to Peacock, who represents Cox. “Of course, nothing that a woman does is going to justify a rape . . . but young people make mistakes in judgment when they’re under the influence of alcohol, and I think that’s what happened here.�

Defense attorneys said they plan to appeal the convictions.

Neither Flournoy, who has been living with his parents in Bakersfield for the last five months, nor Cox, a native of the Bahamas who is in the United States on a student visa, had a criminal record.

Seventeen relatives and friends sent the judge letters of recommendation for the men, whom they described as dedicated students and outstanding athletes incapable of violence.

“I strongly fear for them if they’re sent to prison,� wrote Belle Levinson, an associate English professor at the college. “The detrimental effect of incarceration on such gentle and impressive young men will indeed be severe.�