Nebraska running back Maurice Washington is facing criminal charges for revenge and child porn after he reportedly kept video of a 15-year-old female teen being sexually assaulted, and then sent the video to the victim.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Washington, 19, faces two charges in his home state of California including “a felony count of possessing a video or photograph of a person under 18 who is engaging in or simulating sexual conduct and a misdemeanor count of posting a video or photograph of a person engaging in or simulating sexual conduct without consent, leading to the person suffering emotional distress.”
While Washington is said not to be involved in the video, he’s accused of sending the video to the victim, whom he dated while both attended The King’s Academy High School, in March 2018. The video reportedly shows the victim and two men engaging in sexual acts that the victim claims were not consensual. “One of the boys depicted in the video was arrested in 2016 and placed on probation for distribution of child pornography,” CBS Sports reports.
“I tried so hard to forget it, and then to have someone just throw it back in my face like that and taunt me with it was just so evil,” the victim told NBC Bay Area. “Maybe that’s the wrong word to use, but I felt like it was evil, like why would you ever want somebody to feel that pain that I felt that day?”
Washington is reportedly cooperating with authorities.
“Mr. Washington will continue to be fully cooperative with the authorities in this situation,” his attorney, John C. Ball, told NBC. “We are in contact with those authorities, and are in the process of making arrangements to move forward and resolve this matter. Mr. Washington has confidence in our justice system, and knows that he can rely on the fundamental constitutional rights of due process and the presumption of innocence.”
In a statement released Monday afternoon and viewed by CBS Sports, “Nebraska said that while it was notified by the state’s attorney general’s office last fall that officials in California wanted to speak to Washington, no details were shared with the university and no follow-up was conducted.”