© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

USF Football Player Arrested For Second Alleged Sexual Assault, Kicked Off Team

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Former USF football player LaDarrius Jackson was arrested for a second alleged sexual assault and kicked off the USF Football Team Wednesday.

5/11 12:15 a.m. UPDATE: Updated at end with details of meeting between Coach Charlie Strong and Hillsborough Co. judge Margaret Taylor

A former University of South Florida football player who was arrested for an on-campus sexual battery last week is back in jail after being arrested for another alleged assault this past March.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says LaDarrius Jackson, 22, sexually battered a woman he knew in the bathroom of her Hillsborough County home March 27.

Police say he then made her drive to a nearby pharmacy to get an emergency contraceptive and told her to take it in his presence before dropping him off at his on-campus residence hall on USF's Tampa campus.

That's the same residence hall where Jackson allegedly sexually assaulted another female classmate May 1. Sheriff's officials say the alleged victim in the March case is NOT the same woman involved in last week's case.

Jackson turned himself in at Orient Road Jail Wednesday and was charged with sexual battery and false imprisonment -- the same charges he faces in the earlier case. Jackson was released from jail on a $9,500 bond less than an hour after he was booked.

Officials with USF Athletics told WUSF Wednesday afternoon that Jackson is no longer a member of the football team. He had been suspended following his first arrest.

The woman in the earlier case said Jackson, who she knew, pushed her into a room in Holly Drive Apartments Building A around 2:30 p.m. May 1.

The woman says she attempted to prevent that by putting her hands on the walls. Jackson then allegedly sexually battered the victim inside the room. The report said that the victim didn't attempt to leave because she was afraid Jackson was going to physically stop her.

The victim reported the assault to university housing staff, who then contacted university police. No physical injuries were reported to the police.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's officials say detectives are not aware of any other victims at this time, but are encouraging any other unreported victims to contact law enforcement.

Jackson, a junior defensive end from Birmingham, Ala., joined USF in 2016, playing in seven games, after transferring from Hinds Community College in Jackson, Miss.

Meanwhile, University of South Florida football coach Charlie Strong sat down Wednesday with the Hillsborough County judge who criticized his controlover his team after Jackson's arrest last week.

The Tampa Bay Times reports Judge Margaret Taylor and Strong met for about ten minutes in the chambers of Chief Judge Ron Ficarrotta. Strong was visiting Ficarrotta, who asked the coach if he wanted to meet Taylor.

Last week, during an initial appearance for Jackson on sexual battery charges, Taylor made headlines when she questioned whether Strong had control over his team. In addition to Jackson, another player that Strong inherited when he took over the team five months ago had been arrested in a road rage incident. Taylor voluntarily recused herself from the case a day later.

Ficarrotta and USF Athletics officials both characterized the conversation as "good."

Mark Schreiner is the assistant news director and intern coordinator for WUSF News.
WUSF 89.7 depends on donors for the funding it takes to provide you the most trusted source of news and information here in town, across our state, and around the world. Support WUSF now by giving monthly, or make a one-time donation online.