The preliminary hearing for a former University of Idaho football player accused of sexually assaulting a female student has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 28.
Kyree Curington’s initial appearance — set for 1:30 p.m. Thursday — was vacated, according to court documents. It is the second time a preliminary hearing has been rescheduled.
Curington, 18, is charged with forcible rape, a felony offense, stemming from an incident in early December.
The New Orleans native and first-year UI student was arrested Dec. 8 after Moscow Police officers were contacted by a woman’s parents who said their daughter had been sexually assaulted.
According to a probable cause statement, the events preceded as following:
The alleged victim told her family she had been raped by Curington in her dorm room at UI’s Wallace Residence Center. She reportedly said “no” several times and attempted to push him off, but he pinned her down.
The woman’s roommate, who was present and woke up when the pair entered the space, told police she didn’t know what to do during the incident. She reported hearing, “No, I don’t do that,” and “I thought we were just going to sleep,” and said she was worried whether the student had consented. Officers retrieved a condom wrapper from the woman’s room.
The alleged victim told police she and a group of friends left at 12:30 a.m. Dec. 7 to Stubblefields, a Pullman bar, where she encountered Curington — whom she knew from social media. They left the bar separately, but communicated through Snapchat about him sleeping in the woman’s dorm room for the night.
Police used surveillance footage to corroborate the student’s account that she opened a dormitory wing door around 3:30 a.m. to let in a male, later identified as Curington who denied he’d been with the woman.
He was shown leaving her dorm at 4:15 a.m., about the same time she told officers she began making calls. An official report was made to police near 5 a.m. by her mother from California.
After meeting with the woman at Gritman Medical Center, the officers visited Curington in his dorm room. He told police he sat in a roommate’s car after returning from Stubblefields, arriving at his room around 4:45 a.m. Curington was wearing the same outfit seen in the footage when officers spoke with him.
He later admitted to seeing her in Pullman, but said he never went into her dorm.
Curington was initially booked into the Latah County Jail on a $75,000 bond. He was later released Dec. 9 after posting bail.
After his arrest, UI President Chuck Staben released a statement Dec. 10, informing students, faculty and staff that the university is reviewing the incident.
“University investigations look into violations of the Student Code of Conduct and are separate from Moscow Police Department criminal investigations,” Staben said. “The university will continue to monitor this situation as the inquiries move forward and will make the best decisions possible to ensure the safety of all its students, staff and faculty as well as a fair process for those involved.”
Curington, who has been suspended from the football team indefinitely, is currently not allowed at the university, nor is he enrolled for the spring semester, according to UI spokesperson Jodi Walker. If he were to come to campus without approval from officials, he would be immediately removed, Walker said.
The Argonaut doesn’t generally name victims of sexual assault.
Olivia Heersink can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @heersinkolivia