Three West Georgia baseball players, Bryant Hodges, Michael Perez and Barry Sommer were charged with the sexual assault of a woman in Perez's apartment on South Street in Carrollton, Georgia. According to police the men were charged after police searched the apartment looking for evidence of a second assault. The suspects had videotaped the Jan. 31 incident and left the tape in the apartment.

The men were indicted for the crime in April, 2002. Sommer pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and testified against the others. Unfortunately, a juror made comments that tainted the proceedings and the original trial ended in a mistrial. Michael Perez and Benjamin Hodges, appealed the ruling, claiming that the declaration of a mistrial put them in double jeopardy.

In November, 2004 the U. S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal, in essence letting the ruling of Judge Duffey stand.