Former Husky Overton Faces More Legal Troubles

Back in January, Venoy Overton was a starting guard for the UW men's basketball team. He also happened to be under investigation for an alleged sexual assault involving two 16-year-old girls. Though the charge was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor for providing alcohol to a minor, Overton's off-court antics created an embarassing and unwelcome distraction for the squad who eventually limped into the NCAA Tournament in spite of early season promise.

Just six months later, newly minted UW graduate Overton managed to run afoul of the law again when he allegedly sent his 18-year-old girlfriend to Pacific Highway South with a menu of possible sex acts to perform for soliciting strangers, as well as their accompanying prices. The young woman's claims about her boyfriend's pimping ways launched an investigation that resulted in yesterday's arrest of Overton in Kent.

Now, with Overton set to appear in court today on charges of felony promoting prostitution, the focus shifts back to UW. Is this just another case of a college athletic department sweeping the disturbing actions of one of their star athletes under the rug? Are there more examples of questionable behavior from Overton that never came to light, or is this a recent trend of sexually-motivated illegal activity that has nothing to do with the young man's role as UW athlete? Either way, the university has already expressed disappointment in the latest legal struggles of their former player, and will no doubt pursue further efforts to distance themselves from the troubled Seattle native.