The attorney of a woman who accused three Arkansas basketball players of sexually assaulting her at a fraternity house on the University of Arkansas campus on Aug. 27 filed a petition Tuesday requesting a special prosecutor to be assigned to the case.

The petition comes more than one month after the case was closed by the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office on Sept. 9. Deputy prosecutor Dustin Roberts said the sexual acts seemed consensual based on evidence in the case.

The petition was filed by attorney John Bass on behalf of Rex Roberg, the father of the accuser, and accuses the University of Arkansas Police Department of not fully investigating the incident because the UA stands to lose basketball revenue if the players were unable to participate in games.Also, because the incident occurred at a university-owned fraternity house, the UA could face civil liability for the incident, according to the petition.

UPDATE (2:26 p.m.): One excerpt of interest from the petition cites a videotaped interview between UAPD Lt. Marvin Rice and “Assistant Coach Jones,” who is not referred to by his or her full name.

“I don’t do anything to an athlete that I’m not comfortable with the fact that this is going to become national news,” Rice is quoted as saying during a videotaped interview, according to the petition. “It’s like [UA basketball player] Courtney [Fortson] with the textbooks. I just took care of that; it’s a minor thing.”

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Among a myriad reasons listed in the petition for the case to be re-opened, Bass cites a familial relationship between prosecutor John Threet, UA spokesman Kevin Trainor and former Arkansas athletics director Frank Broyles.

Broyles is the father-in-law of Threet. Trainor, the UA spokesman, is Threet’s brother-in-law. The petition reads that “it would be be wise nor fair to speculate,” why no charges were filed before mentioning the familial relationship.

A rape kit sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory was completed Sept. 29, concluding that semen was found on the “inner and outer regions” of the accuser’s vagina and on her underwear and shorts after swab tests, according to the petition.

The case was closed before analysis on the rape kit was completed. The results were released “on or about” Sept. 29, according to the petition. DNA testing has not been conducted, and the players said in interviews with university police that no vaginal penetration occurred during the incident they deemed consensual at the Phi Gamma Delta house.

Though charges were not filed, the three players are subject to suspensions of two to three games when the basketball season starts next month. Arkansas coach John Pelphrey has yet to detail the exact timeframe for the suspensions or who would face disciplinary action.

Though he was not named by Pelphrey, Arkansas sophomore guard Courtney Fortson will also face in-house discipline for posting an insensitive message on Twitter during the University of Arkansas Police Department’s investigation. Fortson said he regretted posting the message on the social networking Web site.

The petition was filed to the Washington County Circuit Court today, asking the court to assign a special prosecutor “to take over, investigate, and ultimately decide whether to bring charges” in the closed case.

— Brandon Marcello