University of Texas football players Kendall Sanders, left, and Montrel Meander, right, leave the Travis County Criminal Justice Center after being booked , Thursday, July 24, 2014 in Austin, Texas. Sanders and Meander, two University of Texas football players were arrested and charged Thursday with felony sexual assault after a female student said she was raped in a campus dorm room last month.
Two University of Texas football players were arrested on charges of sexual assault in connection with a June 21 incident on UT’s Austin campus.
Kendall Sanders and Montrel Meander, both wide receivers, were arrested July 24 on felony counts of sexual assault. They posted bond and were released, and have been suspended from the team, coach Charlie Strong told ESPN.
According to Austin NBC affiliate KXAN, Meander gave the victim a ride to San Jacinto Hall where they engaged in consensual sex. While they were together, someone knocked on the door, a person later identified as Sanders.
The victim told police Meander left the room, and Sanders began forcing the victim to have sex with him. Meander then reentered the room, and joined Sanders in assaulting her.
According to ESPN, the woman told investigators she asked the duo to leave and Sanders told her, “You could leave after I am done.”
The woman told investigators that she remembered seeing a camera flash, and believed one of the men took a picture of her while the assault was in progress. Police searched the players’ phones and found a picture of the victim on Sanders phone, causing Sanders to face an additional charge of improper photography.
“We’ve been monitoring and addressing the situation with Kendall and Montrel since it was brought to our attention,” Strong said, according to USA Today.
“It’s been made clear to everyone on our team that treating women with respect is one of our core values, and I’m extremely disappointed that two young men in our program have been accused of not doing that,” he said. “With the recent charges against them, they have been suspended indefinitely from our football team and will no longer participate in any team functions.”
Sanders from Athens, Texas is a junior. Meander is a red-shirt freshman from Amarillo, Texas.
