Two former Penn State football players are to be charged with rape and other sex crimes after a student came forward with the allegations against them in July, according to docket sheets made public Tuesday.
Jameial J. Lyons Jr., 19, of Philadelphia, is to be charged with felony counts of rape, aggravated indecent assault and voluntary deviate sexual intercourse. He’s also expected to be charged with misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and invasion of privacy.
Charges against Kaveion A. Keys, 19, of Virginia, include felony counts of rape, aggravated indecent assault and sexual assault, as well as a misdemeanor count of indecent assault.
No defense lawyers were listed on the dockets sheets, which are summaries of court case proceedings and filings.
Affidavits of probable cause — documents that detail police investigations and evidence prosecutors have gathered — were not immediately released.
The suspects are to be arraigned Wednesday by District Judge Don Hahn. His office said Tuesday the affidavits would be released after Keys and Lyons are arraigned.
Centre County District Attorney Bernie Cantorna declined an opportunity to offer any public statement. Football coach James Franklin is to speak with the media Wednesday evening following his team’s practice.
“We are aware of the serious charges against Mr. Keys and Mr. Lyons, who are no longer enrolled at the University,” Penn State wrote in a statement. “The safety of our community is our top priority, and Penn State takes any report of sexual assault or misconduct very seriously and investigates any and all reports.”
While detailed allegations were not available Tuesday, some information was contained in a timely warning sent by the university in July. Timely warnings are required by the Clery Act when certain conditions are met.
A Penn State student reported being sexually assaulted about 1 a.m. July 7 at an on-campus residence hall on the southern portion of campus, according to the warning. The allegation was reported to Penn State police the following day.
Keys and Lyons were initially placed on interim suspension at the end of July to “deal with a personal matter,” according to a team spokesperson at the time — about a month before the start of the Nittany Lions’ season.
That came after neither player was seen at the team’s first fall practice in a portion open to the media.
Just days after being suspended, the team spokesperson said the two were no longer enrolled at the university and were removed from the team’s roster.
Lyons, a defensive end, was projected to fill a top reserve role after recording one sack last year as a true freshman. Keys, a linebacker, was expected to see an increased role at linebacker after he redshirted last season.
Neither appears to have landed with another program since their departure.
Undefeated and ranked No. 3, the Nittany Lions are off to one of the strongest starts during Franklin’s decade-long tenure in Happy Valley.
The team will play at unranked Wisconsin Saturday before returning home to play No. 4 Ohio State on Nov. 2 in a game that’s expected to be pivotal in the Big 10 standings.
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