Ex-St. Thomas athlete accused of sexually assaulting freshman at house party: Charges
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A former University of St. Thomas athlete is accused of sexually assaulting a freshman at an off-campus house party last year.
Jack Samuel Osborne, 23, was charged on Monday with third-degree criminal sexual assault against a person who is mentally impaired or physically helpless in connection to the alleged assault at a party on March 5, 2022.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a hospital for the reported sexual assault of a woman. The freshman told police she "blacked out" at a party on March 5, 2022, and woke up to a man having sex with her.
Police said the man was later identified as Osborne, charges allege.
On the night of the alleged sexual assault the freshman told police she went to an initiation party with her other teammates around 7: 30 p.m. and had alcoholic drinks before going to an off-campus party for another teammate around 9 p.m., charges say.
Shortly after arriving at the house party, the freshman said she got sick in the bathroom and "blacked out." When she woke up the woman said Osborne was on top of her and described being in a state of shock, not being able to move or say anything, the charges allege.
After the woman kept going in and out of consciousness a teammate came into the room and Osborne left. The teammate then helped the woman back to her dorm room on campus. The woman went to the hospital the next day for a sexual assault examination.
Police spoke with a witness who helped the freshman home from the party and said she was "unable to walk and her speech was slurred." The teammate added the woman kept saying she "didn’t say yes" and "didn’t know who he was."
The teammate described the woman as "distraught, crying and very intoxicated," the complaint reads.
According to the charges, Osborne was arrested after police spoke with multiple people at the party. Osborne claimed he didn’t do anything.
Osborne underwent a suspect sexual assault examination and the forensic tests compared a sample taken from the woman’s evaluation with a sample taken from Osborne’s bedroom and found it matched to a degree that "would not be expected to occur more than once among unrelated individuals in the world population."
The University of St. Thomas provided a statement to FOX 9 about the charges against Osborne, saying:
"Jack Osborne was a University of St. Thomas student-athlete on the track and field team roster until spring 2020. He graduated in May 2022 and is no longer enrolled at the university.
"All sexual misconduct allegations that are reported to the university are taken seriously and handled in accordance with our processes. Students who report sexual misconduct are provided support and resources. Per educational privacy laws, we are unable to disclose information regarding complaints by or disciplinary actions taken against current and former students."
Osborne was charged via summons in Ramsey County Court on Monday. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on April 17. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years behind bars.