Villanova football player charged with sexually assaulting another student, Delaware County DA says
A Villanova University football player has been charged with raping another student, according to the Delaware County district attorney.
D'Hani Cobbs was charged with rape forcible compulsion, indecent forcible compulsion and related offenses in connection with the alleged sexual assault in December 2025, District Attorney Tanner Rouse said Monday.
The victim reported the alleged rape to Villanova University Public Safety on Dec. 8, 2025, according to the DA's office.
Prosecutors said it happened the night prior, on Dec. 7, after an off-campus event. They alleged that Cobbs and the victim met at an off-campus event and went back to his dorm with other students. The victim alleged that she ended up alone with Cobbs when he tried to kiss her and she said no, the DA's office said.
Cobbs then "forcibly penetrated and assaulted the victim without consent," the DA's office said. After the victim left the dorm, Cobbs allegedly sent her messages apologizing and asking for a "mutual understanding" of what happened, according to the DA's office.
Cobbs, a Camden, New Jersey, native, was a freshman listed on Villanova's football team in 2025, though his bio page on the university's athletics website has since been removed. His player page remains active on ESPN. He was credited with one punt return for 10 yards in Villanova's 56-14 win over Hampton on Oct. 18, 2025.
A university spokesperson said Cobbs has not been on campus since Dec. 11 and is "not enrolled" at the university.
Cobbs was released on bail, a spokesperson for the Delaware County District Attorney's Office said. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Feb. 12.
Villanova said it launched an investigation into the alleged incident with campus police and the Delaware County District Attorney's Office in December.
"Sexual violence of any kind is not tolerated on our campus and we are committed to both supporting the victim and fostering a safe environment for all of our students," the university said in a statement in part. "We are deeply troubled any time we receive reports of such misconduct, as our priority is, and always has been, to ensure we have a safe community for our students, faculty, and staff."
