(Where’s Benson and Stabler when you need them?)

From a new report on MMAJunkie:

Mixed martial arts veteran Mike Whitehead has been arrested and charged with three felonies including sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, and open and gross lewdness, according to a release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department issued today. If convicted, each charge carries a minimum of one year in prison, according to Barbara Morgan, a Public Information Officer with the LVPD.

Whitehead turned himself into the LVPD’s Investigative Services Division on Wednesday. Detectives arrested him after he declined to answer questions about a sexual assault of an adult female that he was allegedly involved in this past Saturday, Morgan said. Whitehead is currently being held at the Clark County Detention Center. His bail has not been set.


Morgan said additional charges related to a marijuana growing operation discovered at Whitehead’s residence are pending. Detectives discovered at least 50 plants there while serving the fighter a search warrant on the alleged sexual assault…Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker could not be reached for comment on Whitehead’s case.

I had to Google "open and gross lewdness" to understand exactly what Whitehead is being charged with on top of the sexual assault, so I’ll save you the trouble. According to shouselaw.com, "our best definition of Nevada’s "Open or Gross Lewdness" is that it involves exposing one’s private parts or engaging in sexual activity either in public or in any context that would offend other people…Nevada criminal law provides that a person who engages in gross or open lewdness is guilty of a gross misdemeanor on a first offense, and a category D felony on a second offense. Thus a person convicted of a first offense faces up to one year in jail, and on a second offense up to 4 years of Nevada State Prison."

But before you write off Mike as a Joe Son-caliber scumbag, understand that 1) Obviously, he’s innocent until proven guilty and all that. And 2) Nevada laws don’t necessarily equate "sexual assault" with full-on rape. The law encompasses a variety of infractions including unwanted touching of the buttocks, breasts or genitals. Rampage Jackson must be counting his lucky stars that Darrill “Titties” Schoonover and CagePotato.com reporter Heather Nichols forgave and forgot his grabby indiscretions.