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.

 

[Redacted], the NIU wrestler charged with criminal sexual abuse last November, has rejoined his teammates while he awaits trial.

[Redacted], 19, and fellow NIU student Brandon Alexander, 20, both were charged with criminal sexual abuse in separate incidents involving a 15-year-old girl.

Neither male was accused of physically forcing the female to perform sexual acts. Charges were brought against them because of age differences, Sycamore police said at the time of the men’s arrests.

[Redacted] initially was suspended indefinitely from the wrestling team, but he was reinstated in mid-December while the case goes through the courts, said Robert Collins, associate director of Athletics.

[Redacted] was granted a continuation during his last court visit and is set to appear again Wednesday, said Clint Hull, DeKalb County first assistant state’s attorney.

Collins said he can’t comment on [Redacted]’s future with the wrestling team because there have been no decisions made yet.

“We’ll see what happens,” Collins said. He added that the athletics department cannot discuss the case in detail because it is looking out for [Redacted]’s privacy.

Alexander’s case has been wrapped up in court. On Jan. 6, Alexander pleaded guilty to criminal sexual abuse. He was sentenced to 12 months court supervision and issued a $500 fine.

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