Former USD student sentenced to probation in rape case

A former USD student-athlete has served 96 days in the Clay County jail after his arrest on charges of second-degree rape and was sentenced to 10 years of probation after pleading no contest to one count of aggravated assault.

Dale Williamson Jr’s probation sentencing came on Monday. The days he spent in the Clay County jail will count towards his probation, but he was also ordered to pay $1,381.04 in restitution to the victim.

Williamson was originally taken into custody on charges of second-degree and third-degree rape, however, those charges have been dropped and replaced by aggravated assault charges.

Williamson’s lawyer said he may be moving back to Texas to serve his probation. If he breaks his probation regulations, he could be sentenced to serve up to 10 years in jail.

Williamson was charged originally for an incident that occurred in an off-campus location in Vermillion. He was later acquitted for those charges.

In another case, Williamson was accused of raping a victim in a campus dorm room on March 3, 2017.

Williamson’s attorney, Mathey Metzgar, said Williamson had a family member present at every court hearing and received multiple letters of recommendations on his behalf from friends, family and former coaches.

Some of the letters stated Williamson would be someone “you want on your team,” while others said he was a great athlete and person “on and off the field.”

Clay County State’s Attorney Alexis Tracy said the letters should be “taken with a grain of salt,” because they seem to have “doubled as recommendations as an athlete.”