Prosecutors charge U of M basketball player with assault
Hennepin County prosecutors on Wednesday filed felony assault charges against a University of Minnesota basketball player who investigators say choked and whipped his girlfriend earlier this week.
According to the complaint, 20-year-old Daquein McNeil struck the woman with a leather belt and tried to strangle her with both hands, the complaint said.
The alleged attack occurred after McNeil stopped by her apartment in Minneapolis to pick up a backpack, and then started smashing and destroying her personal property, the complaint said.
Prosecutors charged McNeil with one count of third degree assault and one count of domestic assault by strangulation. According to the complaint, the alleged attack by McNeil left "multiple large and prominent bruises" on several areas of her body.
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Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he is deeply disturbed by the allegations.
"The police reports, the witnesses, the photographs of the wounds that his girlfriend has suffered are just not acceptable," Freeman said.
Freeman says bail has been set at $75,000 for McNeil, and he will appear in court next week.
McNeil has been suspended from all team-related activities while his case goes through the judicial process, U of M Athletic Director Norwood Teague said in a statement.
University president Eric Kaler also released a statement saying he supports Teague's decision to suspend McNeil.
"The University of Minnesota and I have zero tolerance for domestic abuse and other forms of relationship violence," Kaler wrote. "The University is committed to creating respectful campuses where these types of violence are unacceptable and where victims and survivors receive compassion and support."