A 21-year-old woman who said she was raped by former University of Montana star quarterback Jordan Johnson testified this week that he changed "into a totally different person" before attacking her on Feb. 4, 2012, according to news reports.
ABC News reported that the woman, who wasn't named in media reports, was the first prosecution witness in the trial. Johnson, 20, now suspended from Montana's football team, has pleaded not guilty and insists the woman consented to sex.
The woman was on the stand Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, recounting her version of events, according to the Missoulian. She testified she and Johnson had flirted and kissed in the past, according to ABC News. On Feb. 4, 2012. the woman said she invited Johnson to her home to watch a movie. They kissed and removed each other's shirts, then things took a violent turn, the woman said.
“He didn’t say anything. He just changed -- just changed into a totally different person,” the woman testified.
According to the Billings Gazette, the woman said Johnson pinned her to the bed and removed her leggings and underwear. KFPB reported the woman said she told Johnson she didn't want to have sex that night, but he became more aggressive and told her, "Turn over or I’ll make you.” He then flipped her over and raped her, the woman said.
Assistant Attorney General Joel Thompson asked the woman why she did not scream for help and why she later drove Johnson home, The Gazette reported.
"There's no real explanation other than I was terrified and in shock," the woman responded. "You know how when you have those dreams and you want to scream so bad, but you can't? It was like that."
Johnson's lawyer, Kirsten Pabst, said in her opening statement that the woman wanted a relationship with "the star quarterback."
"She gave him every indication that she was into it," Pabst said. "She encouraged him, she participated, she continued. "The fact that he didn't give her a relationship does not make what happened that night a crime," according to KECI.
Defense attorney David Paoli asked the woman about a Facebook message to a friend in which she wrote, "I keep thinking that maybe I did want it, and that’s why I didn’t punch him or kick him or bite him," The Missoulian reported.
Clinical psychologist David Lisak testified for the prosecution that what the woman wrote is common among acquantaince rape victims, according to the Missoulian. "They blame themselves in almost any way imaginable," Lisak said.
The trial is expected to last at least two weeks, according to KGVO radio.