Three Michigan State University football players have been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a campus apartment, prompting the US school to dismiss them from the team.
A state judge ordered arrest warrants Tuesday for Joshua King, 19, Demetric Vance, 20, and Donnie Corley Jr., 19. They face one count each of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
King was additionally charged with first-degree criminal sexual assault and a third-degree charge of capturing and distributing an image of an unclothed person.
Attorneys for the athletes have maintained their clients’ innocence. They did not respond to requests for comment.
The three are accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a bathroom during a January 16 party on the university campus, according to the Lansing State Journal.
The woman told police that she “collapsed to the floor” after the alleged assault, the newspaper reported.
The university’s football coach Mark Dantonio dismissed the players after charges were announced.
“I’m angry,” he said at a news conference.
“I’ve talked about the sense of responsibility that our players have, not to be a good football player, but to be a good person.”
Corley and Vance could face as much as 15 years in prison if convicted. King could face up to life in prison.
The university’s police department said it had conducted the investigation that led to charges being filed.
“The MSU Police Department has zero tolerance for sexual assault,” university police chief Jim Dunlap said in a statement, adding that his detectives had provided information to the prosecutor’s office.
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