Ray McDonald, Ahmad Brooks Facing Criminal Charges For Alleged Sexual Assault In Santa Clara County

Former San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Ray McDonald and current linebacker Ahmad Brooks are facing criminal charges for the sexual assault of a woman at McDonald’s San Jose home late last year, prosecutors said Wednesday.

McDonald, 30, was indicted by a Santa Clara County Grand Jury for raping the intoxicated woman and faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. Brooks, 31, has been charged with misdemeanor sexual battery for the Dec. 15 incident and faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

While McDonald was already cut from the team shortly after the sexual assault allegations surfaced, Brooks remained with the 49ers this afternoon despite his name surfacing earlier this year a civil case over the assault.

“The organization is aware that a misdemeanor charge has been filed against Ahmad Brooks stemming from a December 2014 matter,” 49ers general manager Trent Baalke said in a statement. “We take any charge against a member of this organization seriously and are in communication with the NFL. Ahmad is returning home to California and will not participate in Saturday’s game.”

The 49ers are scheduled to play the Denver Broncos in a preseason game Saturday.

McDonald’s run-ins with the law have effectively ended his football career. He weathered a domestic violence arrest last August involving his pregnant then-fiancée when prosecutors declined to file charges due to a lack of evidence, but was cut in December when the sexual assault allegations surfaced with the 49ers citing a pattern of poor decision-making.

He got a second chance when he signed a 1-year deal with the Chicago Bears, but was cut in May when he was arrested again on suspicion of domestic violence.

He was arrested again days later for violating a restraining order stemming from that arrest.

This week’s indictment also includes charges for violating the restraining order, but the grand jury declined to indict McDonald for the previous domestic violence arrest. Because of that, prosecutors plan to drop those charges.

The civil complaint filed by the alleged sexual assault victim earlier this year elaborated on the details of the incident that led to McDonald’s indictment. The woman and McDonald met while drinking at the Willow Den bar in San Jose on Dec. 13, joining him and several friends. Eventually they went back to McDonald’s home in the Silver Creek Valley Country Club in East San Jose where they continued drinking.

According to the woman’s complaint, she was out by McDonald’s pool, slipped on a wet, slippery and negligently maintained deck and was knocked unconscious when she hit the ground. The woman said she was later told that McDonald thought she was dead and said he didn’t want a dead woman found at his house.

While she was unconscious, she said Brooks groped her sexually and that was corroborated by surveillance footage at McDonald’s house. After that, McDonald carried her to his bedroom where they had sex without her consent while she was semi-conscious, according to the complaint.

McDonald tried to sue the woman for defamation, and while he acknowledged they had sex, he said it was consensual and she was alert and talking during the encounter.

McDonald is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 25. Brooks will appear at a later date, according to prosecutors.

--Bay City News