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Woman who accused Cowboys players of rape apologizes

By Justin Bachman / Knight-Ridder Newspapers

DALLAS -- Nina Shahravan apologized to Michael Irvin and Erik Williams on Tuesday "for putting them through the stuff I put them through," then was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $1,500 for fabricating sexual assault allegations against the Cowboys players.

Williams and Irvin earlier had testified that they thought their accuser needed counseling, but did not recommend a jail term.

Shahravan, 24, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor perjury charge Monday and was booked into the county jail immediately after County Criminal Court Judge Dan Wyde assessed her punishment Tuesday.

David Smith, Shahravan's attorney, said she will likely serve about a third of the sentence before she is released.

"She has more guts than anybody in the Dallas Cowboys organization," Smith said. "I think everybody should admire her. She saw the fault in her action and accepted the responsibility."

In her brief testimony, Shahravan also apologized to the Dallas Police Department for the time officers spent investigating her complaint. Prosecutor Clark Birdsall said he was disappointed that Wyde did not impose the maximum sentence of a year in jail.

"She's an arsonist watching the fire burn," Birdsall said of Shahravan in his closing argument. "She's someone who throws the fire alarm to watch everybody run."

Smith argued that Shahravan took blame for her actions and was willing to suffer the consequences, suggesting that a sentence of probation and community service in a rape crisis center "would send a good message to the community, a good message to rape victims."

During his 20-minute testimony, Irvin said Shahravan was manipulated by others and that she needs "some form of help, mentally."

"I think you all know the last year and a half of my life," Irvin said. "There's been a lot of downs. And I look at the Nina situation as one of those downs. I have put it behind me."

Shahravan accused Williams and another man of raping her Dec. 29 while Irvin held a gun to her head and videotaped the attack at Williams' north Dallas home.

She recanted the claims on Jan. 10, after police confronted her with inconsistencies in her story.

Williams testified that he and Shahravan dated "off and on" for about two years and that he is more upset than angry with her.

"I think the defendant needs help, psychological help. I think the Dallas Police Department needs help also," said Williams, who along with Irvin has filed a federal civil rights suit against the department over the rape investigation.

Williams also suggested that television station KXAS and the Dallas Police Department were behind Shahravan's claims.

The two players have settled a lawsuit against the station for $2 million.

In his short appearance, Williams testified that the rape accusation bothered his family and teammates "more than it did me."

"I've been through this sort of thing before," he said, referring to a 1994 case in which a 17-year-old topless dancer accused Williams and a friend of raping her. "It's nothing new to me. Life goes on."

The woman reached an out-of-court settlement with the offensive lineman and declined to cooperate with Collin County prosecutors. A grand jury later voted not to indict Williams on the charge.

Shahravan's therapist, Dr. Abby Meyering, testified that the phony rape allegation was a cry for help, the only way the sexually exploited young woman could "get herself out of those relationships and lash back."

Meyering testified that the "star-struck" Shahravan had been sexually abused as a child and began having sex with older, influential men when she was 16.

In her recantation statement to police, Shahravan said she implicated Irvin because "at the age of 16 he took me in as his friend and was a good friend to me.

"He started making me be with other girls and I have always looked up to him. He started introducing me to his friends and I ended up sleeping with his friends or whoever came into town. I went to Erik Williams' house knowing that I was going to have sex and we did have sex but it came to the point where I wanted to stop but he didn't.

"I feel for both Erik and Michael and I believe the reasons for their behaviors are due to alcohol and drugs. They are good-hearted persons but when they do drugs and alcohol they are not the same persons with a good heart. Erik's friend that was at the house did not force me to have sex with him."

Irvin was asked in court about Shahravan's statements concerning her having sex with his friends. He said they were not true. Peter Ginsberg, the players' attorney, said after the sentencing that "the interests of justice" were not served by sending Shahravan to jail.

"Erik and Michael have a remarkable ability to look at this situation as caring individuals rather than as vengeful people," he said.

(c) 1997, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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