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Woman Says She Was Raped At MOSI Party

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN

jallman@tampatrib.com

Published: February 20, 2009

TAMPA - Tampa police are investigating a report of a rape at a Super Bowl party at the Museum of Science & Industry.

A 22-year-old Tampa woman told police that she was raped while attending the Under the Veil party on Jan. 31 inside MOSI.

Officers responded to the museum at 2:32 a.m. Feb. 1, said police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.

"At this point, it's an active investigation and we're pursuing all possible leads," McElroy said Thursday. No arrests have been made.

The woman was taken to a crisis center for evaluation, McElroy said.

Under the Veil, a two-night event at MOSI on Jan. 30 and 31, was billed as one of the premier Super Bowl parties in Tampa. It was not a National Football League-sanctioned event, McElroy said. There were about 200 NFL-sanctioned events.

"We didn't have incidents of violence or crimes that occurred at any of those," McElroy said.

Party promoters Joseph Stuckman and Jakale Freeman of Tampa-based J&J Sports Marketing Group did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

MOSI spokeswoman Shani Jefferson said museum officials learned of the report on Super Bowl Sunday.

"Due to the nature of that incident, we want to defer all comments and questions to the investigators handling it," Jefferson said Thursday.

Jefferson declined to provide a copy of MOSI's contract with J&J Sports Marketing or say how much MOSI charged for use of the facility. MOSI signed a nondisclosure confidentiality agreement with Stuckman and Freeman, Jefferson said.

The Tampa Tribune reported Thursday that Stuckman and Freeman are being sued by one of the party's co-hosts, professional boxer Antonio Tarver and his company, AT Entertainment, for breach of contract and nonpayment of more than $70,000.

At least four other companies are considering legal action against the men, including former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Larry Ryans, whose company Global Event Specialists planned the event.

Julia Beverly, chief executive officer of Atlanta-based Ozone Magazine, a hip-hop and rap publication, said Stuckman and Freeman owe her $20,000 for promoting Under the Veil.

"They actually offered more money than that initially," she said. "They were just throwing numbers out like they had all this money to play with."

Keyshonna Miller, owner of Tampa-based Elure Models, said Stuckman and Freeman owe $1,200 for the eight models they hired from her agency. The models were to get $75 each a night to appear at the party.

"The whole event was just a disaster. It was poorly organized," Miller said.

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915.

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