By Roger Alford
The Associated Press

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Four former Morehead State University students will serve no prison time for their roles in a campus sex scandal that resulted in criminal charges against them.

Rowan County Circuit Judge Beth Maze heard testimony from a state police detective and the father of the victim before diverting the two-year sentences sha imposed for the men accused of either having sex or watching others have sex with the drunken, 17-year-old Northern Kentucky girl in a campus dormitory.

"I think it's important that the facts of this case be heard so that I know the facts and the public knows the facts," Maze said on Tuesday.

The case had sparked demonstrations by students on the eastern Kentucky campus who complained that university officials had tried to conceal the incident.

Under an agreement with the prosecutor, Nathan Blackburn, 20, of Pikeville; Jordan Tackett, 21, of Jenkins; Calvin Roach, 20, of Louisville; and Quinton Martindale, 19, of Louisville, pleaded guilty to facilitation of the use of a minor in a sexual performance.

The judge is expected to dismiss the charge against a fifth defendant, Trevor Duncan, 20, of Owingsville. Commonwealth's Attorney George Moore said he is seeking leniency for Duncan because he cooperated with police and prosecutors from the beginning.

The victim, looking more like a child than a college student with her hair pulled back into a long ponytail and sitting between her mother and father, wiped tears as Kentucky State Police Sgt. Brian Bowling recounted the events of Sept. 14, 2002.

Bowling, the detective who investigated the case, said the victim was intoxicated and remembered little about the incident. He said others in the room gave differing accounts about various sexual acts.

Originally, Bowling said, he opened a rape case. However, he said the victim couldn't remember what had occurred. He said others in the room told police the girl was a willing participant.

Bowling said all the men charged in the case knew the victim was under 18 years old. He said some others in the room weren't charged because they didn't know she was a minor.

The victim was treated at a Northern Kentucky hospital for an internal injury and bruises on her ankles about two days after the incident.

Bowling said she had originally sought treatment at a campus clinic, but was turned away because they needed parental consent for treatment.

Bowling said under Kentucky law the clinic not only should have treated her injuries but also should have reported them to police. Neither happened, he said.

Moore argued against the judge's decision to have testimony as part of the sentencing hearing on Tuesday. He said doing so would be a violation of the plea agreement with the defendants.

"I want justice to be done, and I think in order for that to happen, I need to know the facts," Maze said.

The victim's father, who also resides in Northern Kentucky, said he would rather not have heard the details of what happened in the dorm room.

"I feel like it was a second victimization today," he said.