Former MSU Football Player Faces Sexual Misconduct Charge

METRO DETROIT, MI — A former Michigan State University football player waived extradition from Indiana Monday and will be transported back to Meridian Township where he will face charges of third degree criminal sexual conduct. Auston Robertson, 19, stands accused of attacking a woman in her apartment earlier this month. He played defensive end for the Spartans last season.

Charges were brought against Robertson on Friday after a district court hearing in Meridian Township, a community near the MSU campus. Police attempted to apprehend the teenager, but he fled to Fort Wayne, Indiana, his hometown, according to a Detroit News report. Robertson played in seven games as a freshman in 2016 and played extensively in the spring game on April 1, the newspaper reported.

The U.S. Marshal’s office in Grand Rapids told the Detroit News that Robertson was arrested without incident, with assistance from the Fort Wayne Police Department, on Saturday. Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio dismissed Robertson from the team on Friday, the newspaper reported.

“The criminal sexual conduct charges announced today against Auston Robertson are of the most serious nature,” Dantonio said in a statement. “Sexual assault has no place in our community. While there is an ongoing criminal process, we’re extremely disappointed that Auston put himself in this position. He is no longer a member of our football program.”

The alleged assault was reported to police on April 9. The woman's statement to Meridian Township police said she and Robertson were acquaintances and ran into each other at a party in East Lansing. The woman, who said she had been drinking, later accompanied Robertson and a friend to a local pizza restaurant before Robertson called his girlfriend to give them a ride, the Detroit News reported.

Police reports said the woman and Robertson then went to her apartment, where Robertson said he would walk her to the apartment “to make sure she gets there safely,” the newspaper reported. It was at that point that Robertson entered the apartment and the alleged assault occurred. The complaint against Robertson said he stopped abruptly and “advised the victim she can’t tell anybody about this incident,” the Detroit News reported.

If convicted, Robertson could face up to 15 years in prison. Third-degree criminal sexual conduct is a felony. Bond for Robertson was set at $75,000 after Meridian Township Police said he could be a flight risk and also mentioned his past record, the Detroit News reported.

In January of 2016, Robertson faced a misdemeanor battery charge after an incident at his high school and entered a diversionary program, the Detroit News reported. It delayed his signing with Michigan State until March 30, and at that time, Dantonio said the situation had been “evaluated over the last three months while utilizing all resources available to us,” he told the newspaper.

Photo by Bobby Ellis/Stringer/Getty Images Sports/Getty Images. Photo of Robertson courtesy of the Allen County (Indiana) Sheriff's Department.