Brock Washington, a Michigan State University basketball player, was charged in Ingham County, Michigan Friday with misdemeanor assault.
Washington, 19, was the lone suspect in an alleged assault on MSU’s campus last fall. It was classified as a fourth-degree criminal case.
According to ESPN, “The case number from the State Police database corresponds to a report in MSU’s Clery Crime and Fire Log, which shows that a forcible sexual contact incident occurred at 3 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2017, in a university residence hall and was reported to police two days later.”
The particular misdemeanor assault code under which Washington was formally charged carries a maximum sentence for a first-time offender of up to 93 days imprisonment and/or a $500 fine, ESPN reports.
This comes on the heels of three Michigan State University football players accepting a plea deal to avoid jail time for sexual assault earlier this week. Josh King, Demetric Vance and Donnie Corley all pled guilty to felony seduction and King also pled guilty to surveilling an unclothed person, which is also a felony.
King allegedly pulled the woman into the bathroom, assaulted her and then invited Corley and Vance into the room.
Michigan State’s athletic department has faced a plethora of scrutiny following a scathing report showing a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and suppression of sexual assault and violence against women by athletes.
The report detailed multiple instances of basketball and football players not being disciplined for such behavior. According to that report, 16 Michigan State football players have been accused of violence against women since 2007. A former undergraduate student-assistant coach, Travis Walton, was criminally charged with assault and battery after allegedly punching a women in the face at a bar and remained coaching.
And there was the Larry Nassar scandal.