Columbus, OH – Two Ohio State Buckeyes’ football players were kicked off the team Wednesday after they were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly holding a woman down and raping her.
Columbus police said the incident occurred at about 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 4 in the 2000-block of Sawmill Place Blvd. when Ohio State defensive back Amir Riep was having sex with a 19-year-old woman, The Lantern reported.
The affidavit said Riep and the woman were having sex when she changed her mind and moved away from him.
That’s when Riep’s teammate, Ohio State defensive back Jahsen Wint entered the room and asked to join in.
The woman told police that Riep grabbed her by the neck and forced her onto her hands and knees so he could rape her, The Lantern reported.
The affidavit said that after he was finished with her, Riep held the woman down while Wint orally penetrated her by force.
The woman told police that afterwards, as she cried, Riep forced her to film a video and made her say that the sex was consensual, The Lantern reported.
She said Riep laughed at her and then he took her home, according to the affidavit.
Both football players were arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree rape and kidnapping, The Lantern reported.
Ohio State Football Head Coach Ryan Day kicked both of the accused players off the team on Wednesday, ESPN reported.
“I am not making any statement on the criminal charges, but it is clear they did not live up to our standards and my expectations,” Day said in a statement on Wednesday. “The athletics department will make sure they both continue to have access to the health and well-being resources available to students and student-athletes. Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, I will not be commenting further.”
They appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court on Thursday for an arraignment, Eleven Warriors reported.
Riep’s bond was set at $100,000 and Wint’s bond was set at $75,000.
Neither football player entered a plea but their attorneys said both would be pleading not guilty at their next court appearance on Feb. 21, Eleven Warriors reported.
Wint’s attorney, Sam Shamansky, said the defensive backs were cooperating fully and had turned themselves in to the police when they became aware of the warrants.
He said Wint had agreed to provide a DNA swab and “completely and honestly answered all questions asked of him,” Eleven Warriors reported.
“I can tell you based on what I know, and based on my client’s alleged involvement, that once this case is fully reviewed, I’m going to submit that there was absolutely no crime committed,” Shamansky told the court. “Most rapists don’t hang around, answer questions and then turn themselves in. The reason that Mr. Wint did all of those things is because he is most certainly not a rapist.”
Wint played in every game of Buckeyes’ 2019 winning season and Riep played in 13 out of 14 games, The Lantern reported.
Both players had one more season of eligibility left when they were dismissed from the team.