WASHINGTON -- A military judge said Wednesday that e-mails from the head of the Naval Academy and a sexual abuse training video may have swayed potential jurors in the court-martial of a Navy football player charged with sexually assaulting a female midshipman.

The judge, Marine Lt. Col. Paul McConnell, agreed to give Kenny Ray Morrison's attorneys greater leeway in questioning jurors from the pool of academy officers under Academy Superintendent Vice Admiral Rodney Rempt, but denied a request to move the case from Rempt's command, which would have changed the jury pool.

Morrison, a native of Kingwood, Texas, is accused of trying to pressure a drunken female midshipman into sex Feb. 4 at a Washington hotel. He pleaded not guilty to charges of indecent assault and conduct unbecoming an officer. His court-martial is scheduled for Sept. 26.

E-mails sent by Rempt and other officials to the Annapolis campus announcing the charges were evidence of unlawful command influence, McConnell said. The e-mails did not refer to the woman as an "alleged victim," Morrison's attorney said.

The judge also cited a training video on sexual abuse shown to all academy staff and students after Morrison was charged. The training video, shown in court Wednesday, shows a woman drinking heavily at a bar, including drinks given to her by a man who takes her home and forces himself upon her.

"The testimony that is to be introduced in this case is going to be remarkably similar to that film," said Morrison's attorney, William Ferris.

Navy prosecutors said the e-mails didn't mention Morrison's name and the video was purely meant to instruct academy members about sexual assault.

The judge also rejected a motion to suppress a 44-minute tape recorded by Navy criminal investigators of a phone conversation between Morrison and his accuser after the incident.

Morrison is the second academy football player to face a court-martial for sexual assault this year. Last week, star quarterback Lamar Owens Jr. was acquitted of rape, but convicted of lesser charges. A military jury recommended that Owens not be punished. The academy has yet to decide whether Owens will be disciplined administratively.