Star North Texas H.S. Football Player Charged With Aggravated Assault
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COPPELL (CBS 11 NEWS) - A star high school football player was arrested and charged with a felony count of aggravated assault after a woman claimed the 18-year-old held a knife to her neck and had sex with her.
Coppell Police arrested Charles West on February 5, just days after he committed as a running back to play at Brigham Young University on National Signing Day.
According to the arrested affidavit, a woman claims West hired her as an escort on January 27. Documents show she told police West held a knife to her neck and forced her to have sex with him.
Documents also show West initiated the call 911 after the woman showed up to his home with two other men.
"I think what you have to remember is that these are charges that stem from an accusation. And we have not yet had time to evaluate the accusations. To test them. To see if the accuser is reliable," said Hunt Bonneau, West's attorney.
Bonneau said he disagrees with what investigators said happened.
"What we believe is that when the time comes to lay out the facts, they're not going to support the charges Charles is charged with," said Bonneau.
The arrest affidavit also reveals when police arrived, the accuser refused a forensic test.
West was arrested nine days after the alleged incident.
"Both of us would, we have lots of things we'd like to say. But it's just not the right time. It's not fair to go into that right now under this judicial system," said Bonneau.
West is committed to BYU, a school that has a strict "honor code."
"They're saying to us, 'Hey Hunt, our morals are going to stay intact. We're not going to bend those for a football player no matter how much talent god has given him.' However they're waiting for the facts to come out," said Bonneau.
Police also arrested West for alleged possession of marijuana.
"There's going to be a point and time when the facts are going to come out and everybody is going to know what happened here," said Bonneau.
When reached for comment, Coppell police did not immediately respond to on-camera interview requests.
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