A bond has been set for suspended Creighton Basketball player Maurice Watson Jr. at $750,000.
BREAKING: Bond set for Maurice Watson Jr. at $750,000 in Douglas Co. Jail Court. @action3news pic.twitter.com/KbB9459333
— Jake Wasikowski (@jakewasikowski) February 27, 2017
Prosecutors say on February 4 the victim was forced in a bathroom by Watson to perform oral sex and he raped her. She went to the hospital with, what prosecutors call, injuries consistent with being sexually assaulted.
Creighton suspended Watson from the team on February 7th.
Last Thursday, a warrant was issued for his arrest. His attorney says he was at home in Philadelphia and drove back to Omaha to turn himself in.
"Anytime somebody is charged with a 1st degree sexual assault obviously it’s a serious charge the question is whether or not they did anything wrong and we have adamantly denied these allegations," said Watson's Defense Attorney Stu Dornan.
The defense asked that Watson be allowed to go back to Philadelphia to continue to rehab his knee. Dornan suggested that Watson could wear a GPS Tracking Monitor if he were allowed to go back.
"He’s got an extended therapy regime, 6-9 months 2-3 times a week. That’s very important," Dornan explained.
"Certainly we just think he should be treated like any other person under the same circumstances. Obviously Philadelphia is a long ways away and we don’t have jurisdiction in Pennsylvania so that’s an issue for us," said Douglas Co. Attorney Don Kleine.
Watson remained in the Douglas County Jail as of Monday evening. If convicted, he faces 1-50 years in prison.
Prosecutors say he's been barred from Creighton University.
