COLUMBUS, Ohio - Two former Ohio State football players were acquitted Thursday on charges of rape and kidnapping stemming from a sexual encounter they had with a woman in an apartment the two players shared.
Amir Riep and Jahsen Wint embraced each other and both cried after the jury verdict was read. Their attorneys argued at trial that the woman had consensual sex with both men but regretted it afterward. They also accused the victim’s father of pushing her and authorities to pursue criminal charges.
Franklin County Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Meyer said the woman went to the apartment expecting to hang out with Riep, but that the two men violently raped her.
The jury deliberated for less than four hours between Wednesday and Thursday morning before finding Riep and Wint both innocent of two counts of rape and a kidnapping charge. Each man could have faced more than 30 years in prison and registration as sex offenders if convicted.
The two players were kicked off the team in February 2020 after their arrests.
The woman told police that she was having consensual sex with Riep before Wint came into the room and both forced her into sex. After several minutes, they stopped and Riep recorded the woman agreeing that the sex was consensual.
Riep and Lloyd McFarquhar, another former Ohio State football player, both testified on Wednesday that players had been told to get evidence that their sexual partners consented to protect themselves from prosecution.
