COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day on Wednesday dismissed two players accused of rape and kidnapping.
Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint are in Franklin County jail facing charges of rape and kidnapping. They were charged late Tuesday and will be arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court on Thursday.
Both players have been suspended from the football team. If recent precedent is followed, they face long odds of returning to the team. An Ohio State spokesman said Tuesday night that the university is aware of the allegations and criminal charges.
According to Columbus police, Riep was hanging out with the victim on Feb. 4 in an apartment he and Wint share on the Northwest Side. Riep and the woman began to engage in consensual sex, but the woman stopped, moved away and told Riep she didn't want to continue.
Wint then entered the room and asked he could join. An affidavit filed by police accused Wint of grabbing the woman by the neck, forcing her on her hands and knees and raping her. Riep then held her in place by the hips and with his body, while Wint forced oral sex, police said. The woman pushed Wint away but he forced her again to have oral sex.
Riep told the woman that she needed to say it was consensual in a video recording.
Riep then recorded her asking if he wanted her face on the video, since she was crying. " ... And he told her 'no, just say it was consensual' on video recording while laughing at her," the affidavit said.
After telling her she needed to take a shower, Riep then drove the woman home. The woman reported the incident to police less than three hours after it occurred.
Ohio State had no further comment on the matter as of early Wednesday afternoon. Danny Landberg, Wint's coach at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., declined comment when reached by The Dispatch.
"I'm not getting involved in this," he said.
In June, Ohio State dismissed running back Brian Snead from the school following an investigation prompted by an anonymous tip that he had committed a sexual assault in a campus dormitory. Charges were never filed against Snead. The woman declined to press charges or talk to the police.
Riep attended Colerain High School in Cincinnati. Colerain coach Shawn Cutright also declined to comment when reached by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
For Day, this is the first major off-field issue involving a Buckeye player since he was hired a year ago. Star defensive end Chase Young was suspended for two games in the fall, but that was for an NCAA issue _ taking an improper loan _ not a legal one.
Riep and Wint were junior backup defensive backs on Ohio State's 2019 team. Riep had two interceptions last season. With Shaun Wade the only returning starter in the secondary, both Riep and Wint were expected to be in the mix for starting jobs in 2020.
According to the Buckeyes website, Riep is majoring in sport industry and has played in 26 games and has 13 tackles. He was a unanimous 4-star prospect from Cincinnati.
Wint is majoring in human development and family science. He is in his fourth season with the program, though he red-shirted the 2016 season and is a junior in eligibility, according to the website. He was a 4-star prospect and rated as the No. 1 athlete in New York state by ESPN and the No. 1 safety prospect by Scout.
