Former Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity member John Richard Tate, who was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, was found not guilty Friday afternoon.

Kara Renee Elsasser, junior in interior design, accused Tate of raping her in December 1996.

Story County District Court Judge Dale Ruigh gave the jury members their instructions Friday morning, and then turned the floor over to the attorneys for closing statements.

“Let’s cut to the chase,” said Mary Richards, Story County attorney. “There’s only one thing you have to decide: Did Kara Elsasser give her assent to John Tate? That’s it.”

Ruigh said the state had to prove Tate engaged in a sex act with Elsasser on or about Dec. 7, 1996, and that the act was performed by force or against her will.

Richards said the defense tried to point out as many inconsistencies as possible, but she said inconsistencies are actually characteristic of memory.

“There are inconsistencies, and then there are inconsistencies,” Richards said. “Inconsistency, in trivial details, is actually evidence that people are being honest.”

She said if all the witnesses had told the exact same story, it would be evidence that they rehearsed their stories.

Richards said there are a number of possible causes of Elsasser’s state of unconsciousness.

“It could have been bad meat at the dinner, a seizure, or even something someone put in her drink,” she said. “The state doesn’t have to prove it.”

Richards said Elsasser’s testimony clearly showed that her inability to remember the night in question was not the result of a defense mechanism, as there was no history of prior abuse.

“What it all boils down to is: Do you believe John Tate’s testimony or Kara Elsasser’s testimony?” Richards said. “After considering all the evidence, you will be able to turn in a verdict of guilty.”

Defense attorney Guy Cook spoke on behalf of 25-year-old Tate.

“In the opening statements, I told you this is a case that never should have been filed,” Cook said. “It doesn’t add up.

“From all the witnesses … we know John Tate is honest, trustworthy and a straight shooter,” Cook said. “He told you what happened … and the state’s witness told you she doesn’t know what happened.”

Cook thoroughly questioned the credibility of the defense’s witnesses.

“[Erich Grashorn] gave [Elsasser] Bud Ice, he gave her champagne … knowing she was underage,” Cook said. “All of these witnesses violated the law. John was of legal age — he didn’t violate any law that night.”

Cook lined up over half a dozen cans of Bud Ice, a goblet (representing wine), a can of Busch Light and a bottle of Ice 101 on the witness stand to represent the various drinks Grashorn consumed that night.

While reviewing Elsasser’s testimony for the jury, Cook said the fact that she did not ask Grashorn to take her to the police station or a hospital at the end of the night was suspect.

“I think if I was a woman, and I believed something bad had happened to me, that I would look at my private parts,” Cook said. “I’d examine them. [According to her testimony], Kara never does that.”

Cook said Elsasser told Grashorn she cried during her deposition, but the videotape does not show Elsasser crying at any point.

He also said Elsasser never told her best friend from high school about a meeting between Elsasser and Tate after the alleged rape.

“Kara does not tell the truth!” Cook said. “These kind of things start out very small, with a little white lie … then it snowballs … the next thing you know, we’re all in this courtroom.”

Cook also showed the jury a videotape of Tate in the SAE house, which illustrated Tate’s difficulty in climbing stairs and getting into his bunk, due to his partially paralyzed left arm and leg.

“[Tate] couldn’t have carried her up the stairs — he can hardly get up them himself,” Cook said.

Cook presented a list of 10 reasons why Tate is innocent.

“It is not a crime to have sex with another who is not your date,” Cook said. “It is not a crime to have sex with a woman who has been drinking. If that was true … there’d be a lot of people in jail.”

Richards began her rebuttal by quoting a statistic.

“Defamation, humiliation, embarrassment,” she said. “Only one out of 170 sexual abuse cases ever get reported. It’s easy to see why that happens.”

Richards said contrary to what Cook said, Tate’s credibility is not intact.

“Once he confided in his brothers, he was on a slippery slope,” Richards said. “Jamie Petersen told him, ‘That girl doesn’t remember anything.’ In the next couple of days, [Tate] was free to craft his response.”

Richards said the fact that Tate’s fraternity brothers spoke positively about him during the trial does not prove his innocence.

“What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” Richards said.

Richards also said she feels Tate has another disability.

“He [has] a perception of women as objects,” she said.

“[In our society], if you have a chance to get some sex, you take it,” Richards said. “Feelings of the women involved are not considered.”

Both Richards and Cook said their clients and their clients’ families would never forget the trial or its outcome.

Tate plans to re-enroll at ISU next semester, according to an article in the Des Moines Register Sunday.