Police in Jacksonville, Alabama, arrested Daniel Adegboyega on Wednesday morning and charged him with first-degree rape by forcible compulsion. Adegboyega is a 21-year-old Nigerian and a member of the Jacksonville State University men’s basketball team.
Officers from the Jacksonville Police Department responded to a residence in the 600 block of Ivy Row NE after a concerned friend requested a welfare check on behalf of a woman. When they arrived, they found Adegboyega and the woman at the location. Police said the woman appeared uncomfortable and seemed to want to leave the building.
Officers then transported the woman to her residence and interviewed her. Investigators also interviewed Adegboyega before placing him under arrest. Authorities held him at the Calhoun County Jail without bond pending an Aniah’s Law hearing.
Jacksonville Police Chief Marcus Wood addressed the public shortly after the arrest. “We would like our residents to know that this is an isolated incident, and there is no evidence of an ongoing threat to public safety,” Wood said. He added that the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in aa court of law.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville State University suspended Adegboyega from the men’s basketball team. Assistant Athletic Director Donnie Smith issued a statement on behalf of the university.
“We are aware of the arrest. In response, the individual has been suspended from the men’s basketball team. Because the matter did not occur on campus and remains under active investigation by the Jacksonville Police Department, questions regarding the investigation should be directed to the Jacksonville Police Department,” the statement read.
Adegboyega previously played at the University of South Florida and UC Riverside before transferring to Jacksonville State. Records listed him as a student from Lagos, Nigeria. Court documents showed that United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a hold on him following the arrest.
