Ex-Bethel football player charged with raping 3 students

A former running back on the Bethel University football team has been charged with raping three fellow students of the Arden Hills-based college during the fall of 2018. 

In one alleged incident, Gideon O. Erhabor, 21, of McKinney, Texas, is accused of raping a Bethel student on Dec. 8, 2018 at a house party on the 5000 block of Lexington Ave. N. in Shoreview. 

The victim told investigators that she brought a can of hard seltzer to the party and then blacked out about an hour after being there. She woke the next day at her friend’s apartment, feeling groggy and queasy, in addition to finding signs of a possible sexual assault. 

The criminal complaint explains that one of the victim’s few memories from the night was of Erhabor on top of her, and when she asked him if anything happened he responded: “I used a condom. You’re fine.” 

The victim said she remembered making it clear that she did not want to have sex with him. She later learned, in April 2019, of another student who was allegedly sexually assaulted by Erhabor at a house party on Sept. 9, 2018. They then helped each other file formal complaints to the university against Erhabor.