UPDATE (10:15 a.m., Dec. 11): At a press briefing Wednesday morning, the Lincoln Police Department offered some new information on the investigation into sexual assault allegations against Andre Hunt and Katerian LeGrone.
Officer Luke Bonkiewicz said at the briefing that the standard for an arrest in any case is probable cause and the time between an opening of an investigation and an arrest being made can take multiple months. He said the timing of the arrests were independent of any other external factors, namely the conclusion of the Title IX investigation.
"The Lincoln Police Department has conducted this investigation as we would any other," Bonkiewicz said. "That is, we conduct objective, meticulous investigations independent of any outside influence or pressure."
The two men were arrested at approximately 5:13 p.m. Tuesday evening. They remain in custody. A court appearance is set for later Wednesday afternoon.
Andre Hunt and Katerian LeGrone, two Huskers who were indefinitely suspended from the football team before the season started and who now face a 2.5-year suspension from the University of Nebraska as a result of a Title IX investigation into sexual misconduct, have been arrested by the Lincoln Police Department.
Hunt was arrested for the offense of aiding and abetting first-degree sexual assault. LeGrone was arrested for the offense of first-degree sexual assault.
LeGrone’s attorney, Kaz Long, said LeGrone maintains his innocence and has filed an appeal to UNL for the suspension handed down last week.
Hunt’s attorney, Carlos A. Monzon, questioned the timing of the arrest after a several-months-long investigation and called the move “a calculated attempt against Mr. Hunt’s reputation,” citing that Hunt was in the midst of term finals in classes. He also confirmed that Hunt filed an appeal to the university’s suspension on Tuesday.
Monzon told Hail Varsity last Thursday that it was his understanding no charges would be filed against his client because “there’s no evidence.” At the time, he said Hunt had been denied access to documents or findings related to the Title IX investigation and claimed “institutional racism” is why they were being “simply ignored” by the office.
ESPN published a report last Thursday citing the Title IX investigation and a police report that provided a detailed account of an alleged sexual assault at an off-campus apartment involving Hunt, LeGrone and an unidentified woman on Aug. 25.
The woman involved reported the incident to the Lincoln Police Department the night it happened, according to ESPN, sent text messages to friends before the alleged rape occurred saying she felt “uncomfortable” and “too scared to say no” to the men’s advances and text messages “immediately” after the alleged incident.
When questioned by LPD, Hunt’s and LeGrone’s accounts of the evening differed on LeGrone’s involvement, according to the report. LeGrone, according to ESPN, lied to police during an initial interview because “he was scared” but in a second interview told officials he had consensual sex with the woman.
The Title IX investigation found that the “greater weight of the evidence” supported that the two men “engaged in sexual assault and sexual harassment.” The 2.5-year suspension was set by UNL in order to allow the woman to complete her education "free from a hostile environment"
Findings of sexual misconduct through a Title IX investigation are based on a preponderance of evidence, meaning the weight of the evidence favors one side over the other. It’s a lower burden of proof than needed to convict someone in a criminal case.
Though the two were still enrolled at UNL as of last Thursday, both Hunt and LeGrone have since entered their names into the transfer portal. They have not been a part of football team activities since late August.
Derek is a newbie on the Hail Varsity staff covering Husker athletics. In college, he was best known as ‘that guy from Twitter.’ He has covered a Sugar Bowl, a tennis national championship and almost everything in between (except an NCAA men’s basketball tournament game… *tears*). In his spare time, he can be found arguing with literally anyone about sports.
