Wisconsin suspends Cephus amid sexual assault charges (updated, 8:30 p.m.)
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
Quintez Cephus will appear in court on Thursday to address two sexual assault charges filed by the Dane (Wisc.) County District Attorneys Office.
The news broke around 1 p.m. on Monday.
The team released a state late Monday afternoon, about four hours after the news began breaking about the charges.
“Quintez Cephus, a junior with the Wisconsin football team, has been suspended from the team after violating the UW Department of Athletics’ Student-Athlete Discipline Policy, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Monday.
“Cephus is suspended from competition and practice pending the availability of further information relating to his case.
“During the suspension, Cephus will remain on official squd lists and may continue to receive support service in the sports medicine facility, the academic support center and the weight training room.
“The Family Educationsl Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects any additional information regarding disciplinary action toward a student.
The Stratford graduate to appear in court Thursday morning to address charges of third-degree sexual assault and second-degree sexual assault of an intoxicated victim.
Court records indicate Cephus met two women at a Madison bar, and they returned to his off-campus apartment. Cephus reportedly told the investigators whatever happened was consensual.
The Wisconsin State Journal in Madison has more details. (Updated 8:30 p.m.)
Local police released a statement Monday:
“Officers from the Midtown District were sent to a local hospital on April, 22, 2018, to meet with a woman who had come to the emergency room. Officers obtained statements and gathered forensic evidence from the woman who said she was the victim of a sexual assault.
“Detectives were next assigned to the case. The woman provided the name and address of the person she said assaulted her. She said the incident took place inside man’s apartment prior to her arrival at the hospital.
“The man, Quintez R. Cephus, age 20, Madison, was contacted. Cephus was cooperative and provided a statement. During the early stages of the investigation, detectives learned the identity of a second woman, who had been present inside Cephus’ apartment on April 22nd. She told detectives she was also the victim of a sexual assault by Cephus.
“Additional follow-up was done and the case was referred to the Dane County District Attorney for a charging decision.”
Saturday night, Madison police chief Mike Koval released a statement:
"MPD has recently been made aware that there is an individual on the UW Football Team making various statements through social media platforms. The MPD has conducted an investigation relative to the information that this individual has been sharing.
“In so far as this is an open investigation awaiting further decisions from the District Attorney's Office, MPD will not be commenting further out of respect for the rights of individuals who have not been charged and are entitled to full due process of the law."
Cephus tweeted early Saturday night that he was leaving the Badgers indefinitely to deal with an undisclosed legal issue.
Head coach Paul Chryst talked with the media Saturday night, as scheduled before Cephus’s tweet but after the two had apparently talked about Cephus’s decision. He practiced on Friday, and the team was told on Saturday.
"Earlier today [I] met with Q and I know he was planning to release a statement, and at this time [I] really don't have anything more to add to that,” Chryst said.
By 6 p.m. Monday, Cephus’s Tweet had more than 1,000 likes, nearly 300 retweets and almost 90 replies. He hasn’t Tweeted since.
The junior missed the final five games of the 2017 season with a broken leg. He has 34 career catchs for 595 yards and six touchdowns in 23 games.