SE basketball starter arrested for alleged rape

~ Detective said the crime happened two years ago involving Andrais Thorton and a woman he knew.

A Southeast Missouri State University basketball starter was arrested at the Show Me Center Tuesday morning for a Kansas rape that allegedly occurred more than two years ago.

A $100,000 arrest warrant was issued for Andrais Thorton on felony charges of rape and sexual battery for the 2003 rape in Colby, Kan.

Thorton, 20, of Chicago, Ill., was arrested without incident around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday inside the Show Me Center, 1333 N. Spring St., said university Department of Public Safety spokesman Doug Richards.

The arrest occurred after the men's basketball team returned from a road trip to Tennessee, Southeast athletic director Don Kaverman said.

Thorton, a junior at Southeast, is in his first year with the Redhawks, having transferred from Missouri State University's West Plains, Mo. campus.

He and another man, Ontario McKee, are accused of raping a woman the morning of Nov. 23, 2003, in their dorm rooms at Colby Community College, Colby detective Gary Shull said.

McKee, of Milwaukee, Wis., was arrested last week in San Angelo, Tex., and has since pleaded guilty to reduced charges, Shull said. He could not provide details of the plea.

While the alleged rape was investigated at the time, charges in the case were never filed until a new prosecutor was appointed in Thomas County, Kan., Shull said.

Both McKee and Thorton, who were freshman basketball players at the college when the alleged rape occurred, were located by searching their names on the Web site Google, he said.

Shull would not go into details of the alleged rape, but said the defendants and victim knew each other.

With his arrest, Thorton was immediately suspended from playing basketball and will remain so until the case is resolved, Kaverman said. If charges are dropped or he is acquitted, Thorton would be allowed to return to the team.

Thorton's scholarship at the university would not be effected unless he is convicted of the felony.

"If he's convicted, he would be done with us," Kaverman said.

Thorton has not been suspended from school, and no other actions against him were planned, Southeast spokeswoman Ann Hayes said.

He is being held at the Cape Girardeau County jail pending extradition.

According to the Ohio Valley Conference Web site, Thorton, a forward, is ranked fifth overall in the conference in rebounds with 6.6 per game. He has started all 20 games this season and is the team's fourth-leading scorer with 7.9 points per game.

In an unrelated incident, four SEMO football players were arrested in December and charged with misdemeanor assault for attacking two college students. All four athletes were suspended from school at the time.

Two men were scheduled for jury trial March 10, a third had a hearing set for Feb. 15, and the fourth was still being sought by authorities.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

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