CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) Charges have been dismissed against a North Carolina football player for misdemeanor sexual battery and assault on a female student.
Allen Artis was charged in September and attorneys on both sides said last week they were preparing to go to trial in July. Instead, Orange County district attorney Jim Woodall signed a document Thursday allowing for the dismissal of the charges because ”the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the parties.”
Artis – a reserve linebacker from Marietta, Georgia – has been indefinitely suspended from the team amid the case. He said last week he is still enrolled at UNC and is ”keeping my options open” about returning to football.
Artis’ status with the Tar Heels wasn’t immediately clear Thursday afternoon.
According to an arrest warrant, Artis had sex with the student against her will in February 2016 when he should have known she was ”mentally incapacitated and physically helpless.” The warrant also said he pulled on her bra strap ”causing an indentation on her shoulder/back.”
Artis has said they had consensual sex and denied wrongdoing. His attorneys have said UNC determined he didn’t violate campus policy in his contact with the student, while a misconduct decision could have led to his expulsion.
The Associated Press typically doesn’t identify people who say they are the victims of sexual assault, but the woman – Delaney Robinson – held a September news conference, saying she had filed for the misdemeanor charges after police and prosecutors indicated there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue felony charges.
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