South Carolina women’s basketball star Ashlyn Watkins arrested on assault and kidnapping charges
- Ashlyn Watkins is accused of violently grabbing the victim by her face
A star player for the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team was arrested Saturday on suspicion of assault and kidnapping.
Ashlyn Watkins was arrested in connection with an alleged assault at a University of South Carolina student housing center.
Watkins, who won a national championship with the Gamecocks earlier this year, was accused of ‘forcibly seizing’ [the victim] her face, her arms pulling and pushing,’ said WLTX-TV.
The attacker also picked up the victim against her will and carried her, the USC police warrant states.
It added that Watkins “grabbed the victim’s head and forced her to walk down the hallway, controlling her movements and preventing her from running away.” This accusation led to the additional charge of kidnapping.
South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball star Ashlyn Watkins has been arrested
The victim reportedly ran away and activated the fire alarm, after which the police and fire brigade arrived on the scene.
The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, while Watkins was read her rights and reportedly confessed. The warrant does not say what she said.
The incident was also reportedly captured on surveillance cameras.
“We are confident that once everyone fully understands what happened, this will be proven to be a misunderstanding,” Watkins’ attorney Todd Rutherford told News19.
“What we know for sure is that Ashlyn did not attack anyone and did not kidnap anyone.”
Online court records for Richland County show Watkins was granted a $30,000 bond.
She was ordered not to have any direct or indirect contact with the victim, whose name is not in the documents.
Watkins was ordered to stay 1,000 feet away from the victim’s home, work, school and place of worship. She would be allowed to travel out of state for basketball games and practices.
Watkins, who won a national championship, is accused of assault and kidnapping
She is due to appear in court on October 25.
“The school was aware of Watkins’ arrest and continued to gather information,” a spokesperson for the women’s basketball team told the Associated Press.
Watkins, a rising 6-foot-1 junior, averaged 9.2 points and 7.4 rebounds last season for the Gamecocks, becoming the first undefeated national champions since 2016. Watkins also led the team with 91 blocks.
She became the first player in program history to make a dunk in a game during her freshman season, and she did it again last season.