Brooks on rape charges: 'I am innocent'

CLEVELAND - After a grand jury indicted Terry Brooks on rape and kidnapping charges, the WEWS sports anchor denied the charges.

"I am innocent of these charges," Brooks told NewsChannel5 on Wednesday. Brooks was placed on a leave of absence from the station during the investigation.

He was indicted Wednesday on charges of rape, attempted rape and kidnapping, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said.

Prosecutor Bill Mason said that between Sept. 1 and Sept. 14, 2009, a 21-year-old woman went to Jack's Sports Bar in South Euclid with Brooks.

"Instead of taking her home, Terry Brooks took her to his residence in South Euclid. He raped her and dropped her back off at Jack's Sports Bar to get her car," Mason said in a statement.

South Euclid police began an investigation in January, when the alleged rape was reported. The indictment includes one count of kidnapping, four counts of rape and four counts of attempted rape.
Prosecutors said Brooks and the alleged victim knew each other. Among the things looked at by the grand jury was how much she had been drinking that night.

"The individual was substantially impaired either mentally or physically and was not able to give consent to the acts that were forced upon her,” assistant prosecutor Paul Myles said.

As for the two-week span in which the assault is alleged to have occurred last September, Myles said, "the victim was able to narrow it down to the beginning of September in that particular time. She wasn't sure if it was one day or the other day so just to be inclusive at this point in time we had the range of dates."

WEWS General Manager Sam Rosenwasser released the following statement Wednesday:

"We learned late on Tuesday of the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's interest in legal action surrounding the alleged activity of Terry Brooks. Any hint of improper conduct by our employees is taken very seriously by the station and its management team. We will cooperate fully and completely with all investigating authorities in the interest of a resolution that is fair and just for all parties involved. At this time, we have placed Terry Brooks on a leave of absence until the facts are determined and we can evaluate his future with the station."

Brooks came to WEWS in 2007. He graduated from the University of Chattanooga with a double major in communications and psychology.

Brooks’ first job in television was at WDSI in Chattanooga as a fill-in sportscaster. From there he was off to WLTX in Columbia, S.C. then to Raleigh, N.C. at News14 Carolina.

He is a native of Memphis, Tenn. Brooks has a wife and a young daughter.