Jury acquits Gilbert of rape, burglary

Associated Press

Associated Press

BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) – A Brookings jury on Thursday acquitted Andre Gilbert on charges he sexually assaulted a woman in her dormitory room at South Dakota State University.

The jury’s verdict of not guilty came after about 4 1/2 hours of deliberation.

Gilbert, 20, a former SDSU basketball player from Brooklyn Park, Minn., had been charged with two counts of second-degree rape and one count of burglary.

“We’re happy with the verdict and believe that the jury did an excellent job of weighing the facts and evidence,” said his attorney, Justin Hyde. “And now hopefully Andre is able to put this behind him and move forward with his life and his basketball career.”

Also charged in the case is Mohamed Berte, also a former SDSU basketball player who is scheduled to stand trial in January on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree rape, burglary and sexual contact.