Former Idaho Football Star Convicted Of Statutory Rape

Former University of Idaho football player Shawn Tyson “Duke” Garrett has been convicted of statutory rape for having sex with a 15-year-old Moscow girl.

Garrett, 24, was jailed pending an Oct. 28 sentencing. He faces a maximum of life in prison. The jury announced its verdict Wednesday night after hours of deliberation.

Garrett, who attained honorable mention All-American status while playing linebacker, said the act was consensual.

“This is a case of statutory rape. This is a case of sexual intercourse between a 23-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl,” Latah County Prosecutor William W. Thompson Jr. said during closing arguments.

Garrett was 23 at the time of the incident.

Defense attorney Michael Henegen of Moscow tried to introduce evidence that Garrett thought the legal age of consent in Idaho was 16 years old. The girl turned 16 the day after the encounter.

But 2nd District Judge John Bengtson said ignorance of the law is no excuse.

The girl testified Garrett never forced her to have sex. After talking with a girlfriend the next day, she said she decided to go to the police.

Bengtson denied bail for Garrett, saying the defendant had failed to appear for a July hearing in the case.