Police in Las Vegas said yesterday they will request a warrant for the arrest of Mike Tyson on multiple sexual assault charges as pressure mounted for the boxer to be banned from the ring.
Both Tyson and the world heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, remained silent in their New York hotels yesterday, following Tuesday's chaotic brawl at a press conference to publicise their confrontation in Las Vegas next April.
But Tyson's fate appeared to be moving out of his control as it emerged that Las Vegas police are ready to indict him as early as next week on charges which, if proved, could mean a lengthy jail sentence. The allegations include rape, although that is not defined separately from sexual assault under Nevada law.
"Police investigated a single incident, but there were multiple acts, and each act can be charged as a separate count," said the chief deputy district attorney for Clark County, Doug Herndon.
"Based on the totality of their investigation, police believe that they have enough to arrest and charge him."
A decision on whether the police will be given permission to pursue charges could take several more days, said Chermaine Gord, a spokeswoman for district attorney, Stuart Bell. "We have a team of attorneys to look at the submission, and the normal turnaround is about two days, but a case like this is obviously going to be quite lengthy."
Police and prosecutors confirmed that a woman, reported to be a lap dancer who the deputy attorney said had been in a relationship with Tyson for at least six months, made the accusation in September when she suffered an injury in the alleged assault which required treatment at a Las Vegas hospital. Tyson's 11,000ft square home was searched and several boxes of material were removed.
The four men and one woman who will decide Tyson's immediate sporting future appeared divided in the face of growing pressure for the boxer to be denied a licence for his bout with Lewis.
The Nevada state athletic commission's president, Luther Mack, confirmed that Tyson had agreed to appear before them next Tuesday to explain his behaviour, but the commissioners were split as to whether sexual assault charges, if any were brought, would affect their decision.
"Charges alone do not equate to guilt," said one commissioner, John Bailey. "We're not a court of law, we're not the district attorney's office. Whatever happens criminally with him is part of a judicial system, and the commission is not charged with responsibility for adjudicating those kinds of issues."
But his colleague Dr Flip Homansky said any charges would be part of a wider decision: "We will ultimately do what is best for boxing and for the state of Nevada, so all the information will be important."
It seems unlikely they will be able to announce a final decision on Tuesday.
Guardian Service
