BOULDER, Colo. (AP) -- A former University of Colorado football player was arrested Tuesday on a sexual assault allegation, Boulder police said.
Michael Sipili turned himself in Tuesday morning after learning there was a warrant for his arrest, police told the Daily Camera.
Sipili, who was a linebacker for the Buffaloes, was being held on $100,000 bond in the Boulder County jail. It wasn't immediately known if he had an attorney.
Sipili is accused of having sex with a 22-year-old woman against her will at an off-campus gathering on Dec. 4. The woman repeatedly told Sipili she didn't want to have sex with him, police said.
The university issued a statement condemning the alleged assault, saying it has worked to educate athletes about sexual assault. University officials said the Boulder campus made sweeping reforms after two women said they were raped by football players and recruits at an off-campus party in 200l.
No sexual assault charges were filed after investigations into the allegations, but the university paid $2.85 million in 2007 to settle a lawsuit by the women. The scandal led to a shake-up of the university leaders, including the resignations of the university president and athletic director.
Campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard said in a news conference Tuesday that the school has "absorbed and embraced the lessons" from the scandal.
Currently a senior at CU, Sipili is no longer an active player on the roster because he completed his NCAA eligibility this past season. In 2007, he was suspended from the football team and the university after his arrest on charges of second-degree assault and criminal mischief.
Sipili, accused of punching another student in a brawl, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to four days on a county jail work crew. He was reinstated to the football team roster in 2008.
Published: Thu, Jan 13, 2011
