Lexington County, SC (WLTX) - A University of South Carolina football player is facing an assault charge after an incident involving a young woman last weekend.
Javon Charleston, 22, was booked on counts of assault and battery second degree and burglary first degree, according to a booking information from the Lexington County jail.
The incident happened last Sunday at a home in West Columbia where the victim lived. The report does not make clear the exact relationship between Charleston and the victim, but it's clear by reading it the two do know each other personally.
According to an incident report, the victim told deputies she'd had been drinking while out on a date and texted Charleston 'hi.' She says he texted her several times, but she didn't respond because she went back home with her date and those two fell asleep at her home.
The same report says Charleston told Lexington County deputies he thought she was drunk and went to her home to check on her. According to deputies, he admitted knowing the code to the home and went inside and found the woman in bed with the other man.
The victim says she woke up to find the player standing over her bed. Charleston told officers he got into an argument with the man and chased him out out of the home.
The victim says Charleston came back to the house and he took the screens off the window. A short time later, she heard something break, and saw him come inside the home.
She says Charleston then grabbed her by the neck, called her a "dirty slut," took her phone, then threw her down a set of stairs.
She said the fall caused cuts to her knees.
While she says Charleston was trying to access her phone, she ran out of the house, jumped a fence, and went to a neighbor's home. While she was climbing the fence, she says Charleston said "are you really running?"
Charleston admitted to officers that she wouldn't let him in, so he shouldered the door and broke the hinges, according to the deputy's report. But he did not mention anything about the assault, according to the report.
Charleston told officers he had lived at the house but that he'd moved out of the place a few weeks earlier.
The University of South Carolina's athletics department confirmed that Charleston is suspended from the team, and that they are continuing to gather information.
Charleston is listed on USC's website as a redshirt junior from Illinois. He was a walk-on player who was earned a scholarship prior to the start of the season. Video of that moment was shared by the university.
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