By Spence LaCapra

Left: Reid Evans; Right: Markell Wilkins

Two former ODU football players, Reid Evans and Markell Wilkins, are scheduled to go to trial in December on charges stemming from the alleged rape of two Hampton women on June 16, 2012.

Reid Evans and Markell Wilkins face trial on December 11^th and 18^th respectively.  Evans faces two counts of rape, two counts of forcible sodomy and two counts of conspiracy to commit rape. Wilkins is being charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit rape and one count of forcible sodomy.

During the preliminary hearing last December, two 18-year-old women testified that Evans raped them inside Evan’s dorm room last summer. The women said they met Evans at the Oceanfront and later accompanied him to the ODU campus from their grandmother’s house in Hampton.

The women said they became disoriented after drinking several shots of vodka, and said they felt immobilized,  unable to say no. The next morning, they reported the incident to ODU campus police. Evans was charged a few days later, while Wilkins was charged about a month later after being identified by campus police during their investigation. Both were immediately suspended from the football team.

In a press conference on June 25, 2012, Coach Wilder stated “we hold all of our young men accountable to high standards of conduct, as they serve as ambassadors for our university. We respect the due process of our legal system as these charges are investigated, however I want to ensure the integrity of our football program and university is not compromised throughout this process.”