Florida Football Freshman Arrested On Felony Charge Of False Imprisonment, Also Known As 'Dating Violence'

The Florida Gators football team is currently dealing with a true freshman being arrested over the weekend on a third-degree felony charge of false imprisonment, which is also being characterized as ‘dating violence’. 

Details of the player's name are currently being withheld due to the accused attacker being a 17-year-old juvenile, according to the Gainesville police department. Also, the alleged victim's identity is not being disclosed due to the nature of the alleged event. 

According to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun, which obtained a copy of the arrest report, the football player is set to be charged in the Alachua County Civil Court, which is where most arrests that occur in the Gainesville area are dealt with. 

The report states that the altercation started as a verbal argument over what the alleged attacker found on the victim's cell phone. At that point, the situation reportedly turned physical. The alleged attacker pushed the victim onto a bed, where he proceeded to get on top of her, while also holding her down. 

From there, the victim told police that the accused then began to choke her, to which the victim stated she could not breathe. 

According to the police report, the Florida freshman weighed close to 400 pounds, which was over twice as much as the victim. Due to the description of the alleged attacker, it should not be hard for fans to identify the athlete. 

Florida Player's Incident Turns Violent, According To Reported Arrest Report

At that point, the alleged victim recalled to police that the alleged attacker punched her in the face numerous times. When the attacker stopped hitting the victim, she asked the attacker if he was ‘satisfied’, to which he replied ‘yes’, according to the police report. 

The false imprisonment came into play when the alleged victim told police that she tried to leave the room, but that is when the alleged attacker blocked her exit. While the altercation was ongoing, the victim told police officers that the male then threw her iPhone against the wall, which police noticed several dents on the wall inside the bedroom, which was consistent with what the alleged victim told police. 

False imprisonment is a third-degree felony in Florida, which carries a sentence of up to 5 years in prison, plus time on probation and assorted court costs.

According to the Gainesville Sun, the accused attacker was read his rights, and denied that he choked the victim or prevented her from actually leaving the room. But, he did admit that the story of throwing the phone against the wall was accurate. 

Officers noticed that the alleged victim had lacerations and wounds on her face, and that they were still bleeding at the time, as police questioned both parties. A University of Florida football spokesperson released a statement regarding the matter. 

"We are aware of the situation with one of our student athletes. We will continue to gather facts, cooperate with and monitor the legal and administrative process."

This is the standard response to an incident. We will continue to monitor the situation, as the freshman is scheduled to be officially charged as a juvenile.