While one of the suspects claimed that Madison Brooks consented, he later replied "I guess" when authorities asked whether Brooks had been too impaired to consent to sexual intercourse, according to the arrest affidavit.
Madison Brooks, a 19-year-old student at Louisiana State University who died after she was hit by a car on her way home, may have been raped shortly before the fatal crash, according to a pathologist with the East Baton Rouge Paris Coroner's Office who reported that Brooks had “injuries consistent with previous sexual assault.”
LSU President William Tate said in a statement earlier this week, “Madison was a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, a niece, a classmate, and a friend to many of you. By all accounts, she was an amazing young woman with limitless potential. She should not have been taken from us in this way. What happened to her was evil, and our legal system will parcel out justice.”
Brooks had been a sophomore at the college studying mass communication, and a member of the Alpha Phi sorority at LSU.
Now, four people, including three teenagers, have been charged in connection with her alleged rape.
Kaivon Washington, 18, and an unnamed 17-year-old have been charged with third-degree rape, according to jail documents. Everett Lee, 28, and Casen Carver, 18, were both charged with principle to third-degree rape, meaning police believe they were present but not involved in the crime.
The four suspects allegedly met Brooks at Reggie’s, a local bar in Baton Rouge, and she had already been drinking at that point, authorities said in an arrest affidavit. “[Carver] stated the victim was very unstable on her feet, was not able to keep her balance, and was unable to speak clearly without slurring her words,” the affidavit alleged.
Brooks allegedly told them she couldn’t find her friends, and asked for a ride home but couldn’t tell them her address, authorities said.
While in the car, with Carver at the wheel, he allegedly heard his 17-year-old friend ask Brooks “five times” if she wanted to have sex with him, the arrest affidavit stated. They then had sex in the backseat while Washington stepped out of the car, according to the affidavit.
When they finished, Washington then re-entered the car, and allegedly asked Brooks “numerous times” if she wanted to have sex with him, “and she consented,” the arrest affidavit stated. Washington and Brooks then had sex in the backseat of the car, according to the affidavit.
Carver and Lee remained in the front seats of the car during the entire incident, according to the affidavit.
While Carver claimed he heard Brooks verbally consent to having sex with both of his friends, he replied, “I guess,” when authorities asked whether Brooks had been too impaired to consent to sexual intercourse, according to the arrest affidavit.
Medical records from her hospitalization after she was fatally struck by a car showed she had a blood alcohol content consistent with official definitions of alcohol poisoning and loss of consciousness, the affidavit alleged.
The group later drove around trying to look for where Brooks lived before eventually dropping her off at a subdivision, authorities said.
An attorney for Washington and Lee told WAFB that she had told the group she would get an Uber, and left the car on her own.
Less than an hour later, Brooks was fatally hit by a ride-share vehicle, the affidavit said.
The driver of the car that accidentally hit her was not impaired, and remained at the scene until emergency personnel arrived, according to CBS News. The driver was not charged in connection with her death.
Washington, Lee and Carver have been released on bail, according to jail records. Their 17-year-old friend was booked into juvenile detention and his name has not been released because he is a minor.
Ron Haley, who is representing Washington and Lee, called the incident “a tragedy, definitely not a crime,” and said video evidence from inside the car will acquit his clients fully.
Joe Long, an attorney representing Carver, echoed Haley’s sentiments in an interview with The Advocate, calling the incident a “tragedy, but not a crime.”
Neither Long nor Haley have responded to Inside Edition Digital's request for comment.
