A Temple University football player has been charged with rape, police said today.
Praise Martin-Oguike, 18, originally from Woodbridge, New Jersey, was arrested last Thursday for an incident that allegedly happened two days before, over Memorial Day weekend, court documents show.
The six-foot-one-inch, 220-pound linebacker is charged with aggravated
assault, rape, indecent assault of a person less than 13 years of age,
unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and reckless endangerment.
According to court documents obtained by WPVI-TV and The Philadelphia Daily News, a 21-year-old woman alleges that the two were in Martin-Oguike’s dorm room when he grabbed her by the throat and sexually assaulted her, then signed her out in the downstairs lobby as if nothing had happened.
He allegedly texted her later asking if she was going to press charges. She did not reply, but went to police the next day.
Martin-Oguike was arraigned last Thursday and freed after posting 10 percent of $15,000 bail. His preliminary hearing is set for June 14.
Martin-Oguike joined the Temple Owls in 2011 after graduating from Woodbridge High School, where he played as linebacker and tight end. He attended the University’s Fox School of Business and Management, according to his LinkedIn page.
He is currently suspended from the team until the charges against him are resolved.
