University of Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self responded Wednesday to the investigation of a reported rape of a 16-year-old at the on-campus apartment building where team members and other male students live.
The case remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made, KU police Deputy Chief James Anguiano said Wednesday.
KU police have not named a suspect or released any suspect information, but police interviewed several men’s basketball players in connection with the case. All five people listed as witnesses on the publicly available portion of the police report are members of the team.
Self told the Journal-World that he could not comment on the investigation but that he was aware players were contacted by police.
“Some of our players were listed as potential witnesses to an alleged incident at McCarthy Hall,” Self said. “From what I have learned, a witness can be many things, including a person who can provide information, whether an eye-witness or not, or has been present before, during or after a potential incident.”
Self said that moving forward the university and KU police would be the only units commenting on the investigation.
“If information is brought to us that warrants action, appropriate action will be taken at that time,” Self said.
The alleged rape and three other related crimes occurred between 10 p.m. Dec. 17 and 5 a.m. Dec. 18 at McCarthy Hall, 1747 Naismith Drive, according to the police report, requested and obtained Tuesday by the Journal-World. In addition to rape, the suspect also is accused of contributing to a child’s misconduct, furnishing alcohol to a minor and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the report.
Police have said the victim, who was not a KU student, was visiting residents in the building. The police report indicated the suspect was known to the girl and that the suspect was believed to have been using alcohol and drugs.
McCarthy Hall is an all-male apartment building operated by KU Student Housing. McCarthy is home to about 40 students; roughly half are KU men’s basketball players and the other half are upperclassmen, nontraditional or transfer students.
