Four basketball players from Ridge View High School are charged with attacking two other students while at the school, with one student accused of sexually assaulting a victim, Richland County deputies said.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department charged three players with assault and battery by mob and second-degree assault and battery. The fourth player is charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct. The charges stem from separate incidents at the school on Monday and Tuesday.

The teenage suspects’ names are withheld because they are juveniles, but all the teens are male, two of them are 14 years old and the other two are 15 years old, according to a sheriff’s department statement. The victim also is a male.

An incident report said the suspects were members of a basketball team at Ridge View, but the report redacts the specific team.

One incident was reported to a deputy during a basketball game on Tuesday, according to the report. Two Ridge View coaches told the deputy that a parent had contacted the school about an assault.

Earlier that day, three basketball players grabbed a 15-year-old student in a school locker room and held him down. A fourth player “committed a criminal sexual act” against the victim, deputies said.

After learning about the assault, deputies charged the three players who held down the victim with assault and battery by mob. Deputies charged the other player with first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

While investigating that assault, deputies learned of a similar incident that happened the day before some of the same group of players.

Monday, three players assaulted a 14-year-old student while at the school, deputies said. Deputies charged one teen with second degree assault and battery while the other two teens were charged with assault and battery by mob. The teen facing the second degree assault charge is the same teen facing the criminal sexual conduct charge in the Tuesday incident, deputies said.

The assaults went beyond hazing, according to sheriff’s department spokesperson Maria Yturria. “Hazing implies an initiation and we don’t believe that’s what it was,” she said.

Deputies, who are still investigating, said district and school administrators have been very cooperative.

Richland District 2 spokesperson Libby Roof sent to The State a statement the school sent to parents:

“We became aware of an incident that occurred earlier this week that was a violation of our district’s Student Code of Conduct. We immediately notified the Richland County Sheriff’s Department of this incident and continue to cooperate fully with the investigation.

“School administrators followed district procedures and board policy in administering disciplinary consequences. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate the incident and as a result, it is very likely that you will be seeing a report in the media about this incident very soon.

“We appreciate and value our communication channels with parents, students and the community. Because of these lines of communication we are able to immediately investigate incidents.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

PHOENIX – A former Arizona State University football player has been arrested and accused of committing several sexual assaults throughout the Valley.

On Friday, 35-year-old Tranell Morant went before a judge at the jail. According to police reports, Morant is accused of committing four sexual assaults in Phoenix, three in Scottsdale and one in Tempe.

One of the incidents reportedly dates back to 2005.

Morant spoke out in court Friday.

“I have never been in court before, your honor, and this is a first for me,” said Morant.

Morant was arrested on Thursday.

“You have seven charges, three were kidnapping, Class 2 felonies. Three are for sexual assault, Class 2 felonies. One is for attempted sexual assault.”

According to the police report, in one of the alleged incidents in Phoenix, Morant kidnapped a 26-year-old victim and sexually assaulted her in his apartment.

Morant is a former ASU football player who played in nine games in 2006. According to ASU’s athletics website, he once played for the University of Florida, and graduated from a Florida high school. His profile on ASU’s athletics website states he was interested in a career of law enforcement.

In court, Morant asked the judge if he could be released. 

“I want you to know I live my life with integrity and purpose, and this is all new for me,” said Morant. “Is there any way that you can release me, and I promise you that I will definitely show up to the court date? You will never have to worry about me showing up to the court dates.”

The presiding judge, however, declined, due to the severity of the charges. 

Morant is listed as being a resident of Downtown Phoenix. A judge has set a $25,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is on December 23.

MSU did not publicize the fact that 16 football players were accused of sexual assault and violence, according to an investigative report by ESPN’s Outside the Lines.

Those cases have all occurred since 2007, when Mark Dantonio became the head coach.

MSU has fought — and lost — three lawsuits in the past three years for withholding student athlete names in MSU Police records.

Dantonio was involved in discipline for at least one case, according to the report. 

In June 2017, Dantonio said that “this was new ground for us,” referencing the four former football players who were accused for sexual assault in two separate incidents during the spring 2017 semester.

The case Dantonio referenced involves Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance. They are accused of forcing a woman to perform oral sex on them during a party in January 2017.

In the other incident, Auston Robertson was charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly raping a woman in her apartment.

The investigations into athletes were handled by former Athletic Director Mark Hollis’ department. Coaches would sometimes even handle the cases.

Hollis resigned on Friday, two days after OTL asked MSU spokesperson Jason Cody and the MSU sports information department for comment about the article. OTL also asked for comment from Hollis, Dantonio and men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo.

The reports involving the football team, according to ESPN:

– A junior offensive tackle and his girlfriend accused each other of violent behavior on Aug. 31, 2009. They declined to file charges.

– A freshman defensive lineman was accused of punching and kicking his girlfriend on Dec. 18, 2009. The player said he was trying to restrainer her, but never hit the woman. No charges were filed because the woman did not want to pursue.

– A freshman wide receiver and another football player were accused of raping a woman in November 2009. She reported the assault in Jan. 17, 2010. She said after the rape she became suicidal and drank excessively. The players said it was consensual sex. No charges were filed.

– A freshman running back slammed a woman against a wall, after she asked him to say “please,” on Aug. 31, 2013. The woman was left with a scraped elbow and buttock. The woman declined to file charges, saying she only wanted the player to apologize, which he did in the presence of a police officer.

– A freshman football player is accused of using his penis to vaginally and orally assault a severely intoxicated woman in her dorm room, following a party on Oct. 29, 2013. The woman told the player she did not consent, but the player said the woman never told him to stop. The woman told MSUPD that she did not want to file criminal charges, but did want to report it to MSU’s judicial services. There were no criminal charges filed.

– Four football players were accused of gang raping a woman in 2007. In May 2014, parents of a deceased MSU student filed a report with MSUPD about the rape. They discovered the incident after reading her journals from therapy sessions. Detectives conducted a months-long investigation and sent the findings to the Ingham County Prosector’s Office in June 2015. No charges were filed because the woman’s journals could not be used as evidence and they could not corroborate her claims.

However, according to the report, it is unclear if MSUPD or administrators ever told Dantonio about the incidents.

The athletic department tends to keep reports accusing athletes of assault “in house,” former Michigan State sexual assault counselor Lauren Allswede said.

This report comes a day after an OTL article detailing how MSU has failed to hand over all of its files about Nassar to the Office of Civil Rights.

Stay with The State News as updates continue. The reports also detail investigations into the MSU men’s basketball team.