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Sam Ukwuachu: Baylor Claims Ignorance to Past Violence Allegations Amid Rape Conviction

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Sam Ukwuachu was apprently part of the Baylor Bears football team for the last two seasons and did not play a single game.

After being named an All-American as a freshman defensive end in 2012, the Pearland, Texas native transferred to Baylor in May 2013 because he said he was homesick, but NCAA rules required him to sit out for the season. He also sat out the 2014 season and the reason was public information, though no one looked and Baylor University (BU) did not publicize it either.

Sam Ukwuachu was indicted for two felony counts of sexual assault in June 2014; his trial began this past Monday; and he was convicted Thursday night. The jury deliberated for five-and-a-half hours and found Ukwuachu guilty on one count that carries a prison sentence up to 20 years, The Waco Tribune reported.

Now, for the part that could be highly damaging to BU and its football program: Ukwuachu was dismissed from the Boise State Broncos football team in May 2013 for what was called a violation of team rules, The Idaho Press-Tribune reported at the time.

However, Texas Monthly published an investigative piece that indicated Boise State dismissed Ukwuachu from the football team due to allegations he assaulted a female student. The newspaper also reported obtaining court documents that suggested Baylor's football staff new about these allegations when they accepted his transfer.

That Oct., Ukwuachu allegedly sexually assaulted an18-year-old female student-athlete at BU, which resulted in the criminal charge he was just convicted of. The alleged victim, referred to only as "Jane Doe," testified on Tuesday. She said she was in contact with Ukwuachu before the assault, but that she was trying to put down his advances and emphasize that she was not interested in anything physical or romantic, Texas Monthly reported. Ukwuachu maintained that Doe was not resisting his advances, and actually had sex with him willingly.

BU head football coach Art Briles has stated publicly the only reason he understood for Ukwuachu's transfer was that the player wanted to go to school in his home state. BU also issued a statement iterating their commitment to the federal gender-equity Title IX law, which outlaws negligence in sexual assault cases involving students.

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