A man charged with sexually assaulting a University of Wisconsin woman was sentenced to eight years of probation with one-year jail time. London Triplett, 30, was sentenced Friday in Dane County Court as a result of an Oct. 12, 2002, incident.
Triplett was found guilty of third-degree sexual assault of an 18-year-old female resident of Ogg Hall. According to Triplett’s attorney, Michael Short, Triplett testified in court that the sex was consensual. The victim, however, argued that Triplett physically forced her to have sexual relations.
Short clarified that using force or using the threat of force for sexual contact or intercourse constituted second-degree sexual assault, but third-degree sexual assault consists of sexual contact with no force but without consent.
“Basically, the jury did not believe [Triplett’s] testimony against hers, saying it was consensual; and the jury didn’t believe the [victim’s] testimony against [Triplett] that he used force,” Short said.
Short added that the jury probably made their decision based on the testimony of the victim and the accused.
“It probably came down to his word against hers.”
Short explained that the options for sentencing were either to send him to jail for an extended amount of time or to give him extensive probation.
Triplett, a member of the hip-hop group Coo Coo Cal, was said to have followed the woman back to her room in Ogg Hall where he ordered her to remove her pants and then proceeded to rape her, according to an Oct. 22, 2002, Badger Herald article.
Triplett pleaded not guilty to second-degree sexual assault charges Dec. 2, 2002. The trial eventually went before a jury and Triplett was found not guilty of the second-degree charge, but guilty of third-degree sexual assault.
Triplett has a criminal record, including traffic infractions and a prostitution non-marital sexual intercourse charge he pleaded not guilty to in Milwaukee County in 1999.
Triplett will most likely serve his sentence in Dane County, unless he can be transferred to his home county of Milwaukee. Short said this is unlikely because it is “pretty hard to do.”
