Keyword
NBA
Scores
Schedule
Standings
Statistics
Transactions
Injuries
Players
Message Board
NBA en espanol
CLUBHOUSE


SHOP@ESPN.COM
TeamStore
ESPN Auctions
SPORT SECTIONS
Wednesday, August 7
 
Former NBA player to go on trial next week

Associated Press

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Former NBA star Sylvester "Sly" Williams will go on trial next week on kidnapping, rape and other charges.

The one-time member of the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics has been held in the Broome County Jail without bail since his arrest in January.

Williams, 44, a first-round draft pick of the Knicks in 1979, faces felony charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and first-degree kidnapping in connection with an incident in September. Binghamton detectives said he held a woman captive for about 24 hours, tying her up and threatening her with a knife.

Prosecutors also accuse Williams of having sex with a 42-year-old woman against her will Jan. 11 at her home in Endicott. The woman was threatened with a weapon, police said.

Charges from both indictments have been consolidated for the Aug. 19 trial, said Geoffrey B. Rossi, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case.

The 6-foot-7 Williams, a former University of Rhode Island star, received a suspended prison sentence in 1991 in New Haven, Conn., on abuse charges filed by his girlfriend.

At the time of his arrest, Williams was working at American Pipe & Plastics Inc., operating machines that bend and shape pipe. He earned about $20,000 a year.