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Trial begins for ex-Tennessee players facing rape charges

Related Topics: Trial, Criminal defense lawyer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A prosecutor in the trial of former Tennessee football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams said they used their status as athletes to rape a woman in a "case about power, privilege and protection."

Defense lawyers countered that the woman voluntarily had sex with both men before lying out of embarrassment.

The trial for Johnson and Williams got underway Monday, nearly four years after the alleged incident. Each is charged with aggravated rape.

Johnson was a star linebacker and Williams a defensive back for Tennessee when a woman said both men raped her in the early morning hours of Nov.