Editor’s Note: On August 24, 2012, the Northern Star redacted the name of a student originally named in this story. The student and various legal entities provided evidence to the Northern Star that the student had the charges discussed in this article expunged from his record, as he was not convicted of them. The Northern Star does not typically remove the names of those charged with crimes and will not do so upon request except in special circumstances, as in this case. The student’s name was redacted because he was found not guilty and his record was expunged. As the Northern Star strives for transparency in all cases, the story was left completely unaltered except to replace the source’s name with [Redacted]. The archived print edition remains unaltered.

In a preliminary hearing Wednesday, NIU wrestler [Redacted] pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual abuse. He was assigned a bench trial date of March 10.

[Redacted] and his lawyer opted for a bench trial rather than a jury trial, said a representative from the DeKalb County State’s Attorney.

His trial has been set for 9:30 a.m. at the DeKalb County Courthouse, 110 E. State St., Sycamore

Last November, [Redacted], 19, and a fellow NIU student were charged with criminal sexual abuse in separate incidents involving a 15-year-old girl. Charges were brought against them because of age differences, Sycamore police said at the time of the men’s arrests.

Initially, [Redacted] was suspended indefinitely from the wrestling team, but he was reinstated in mid-December while his case goes through the courts.

The other male involved in the case pleaded guilty to the same charge this month and was sentenced to 12 months of court supervision and issued a $500 fine.

If found guilty, Athletic Director Cary Groth has said [Redacted] will be dismissed from the team.