Butler basketball player charged with rape, sexual battery
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Felony charges have been filed after an alleged rape on Butler University’s campus in February.
Carlos Johnson Jr., 19, faces charges in the case.
Johnson is a Butler University basketball player known by the nickname “Scooby.”
Butler University officers were dispatched to Irvington House Dormitory just after 2 a.m. Feb. 4. A woman, only identified in court documents by her initials, told officers she had been raped and that the suspect was still in the building. She told officers his nickname was “Scooby.” Investigators said she had “significant vaginal bleeding.”
Officers went to Johnson’s room.
“I should of told that b**** to leave,” he is alleged to have said to officers.
She told investigators that she was walking around the dorm, attempting to find a friend, when she knocked on Johnson’s door. She knew him from class and from the basketball team, according to court documents. After going inside to talk and watch him play video games, she said she began to fall asleep. When she woke up, she said Johnson was fondling her. She also said he forced his penis into her mouth and into her vagina.
Security video referenced in court documents is purported to show the woman entering Johnson’s room around 12:40 a.m. and Johnson walking the woman through the lobby and toward her room at 1:37 a.m. Investigators say the video shows the woman “make a motion with her arm to separate herself from Johnson.”
News 8 has not seen the security video and still images are not produced in the court documents.
When Johnson and the woman arrived at her suite, he told the woman’s suitemate that “she took a nap in his bed and he walked her back to make sure she got to her room safely,” according to court documents.
The suitemate told investigators that the woman then whispered in her ear “‘he raped me’ or ‘he attempted to rape me ,’” according to court documents.
In an interview with police, Johnson told investigators that the woman pulled his insides to her, putting his fingers inside her vagina, according to court documents. He also told investigators he “knew she had been drinking because he could smell alcohol,” according to court documents.
In his interview with police on the morning of Feb. 4, he told police that he did not have intercourse with the woman.
Investigators requested a DNA analysis on Feb. 8. Results were released on May 11. Court documents say blood was found on Johnson’s underwear. DNA collected matched a sample from the woman.
Johnson faces felony charges of rape, attempted rape, and sexual battery.
Online court records indicate a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Johnson missed the 2020-21 basketball season due to an ACL injury. He was Michigan 2020 Mr. Basketball.
Butler University student Sonya Sharfaei says she’s thinking about the woman. “Honestly, my heart goes out to her. It’s a disheartening situation,” Sharfaei said.
Butler University student Ben Varner says he’d heard rumors about what happened. “We were are all pretty upset because we figured you know because of his sports status, nothing would happen, but we’re all pretty pleased that you know he was brought to justice,” Varner said.
Butler University issued this statement:
On August 12, Carlos Johnson was charged with Rape, Attempted Rape, and Sexual Battery. We can confirm that Mr. Johnson is no longer enrolled at the University and that he has not been allowed on campus since the date of this incident in early February.
The University takes these allegations very seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct, violence, and harassment, per our Sexual Misconduct Policy. Our top priority is the safety of our students and campus community, and the University provides support and resources to all students.
Out of respect to the students’ federal privacy rights and the ongoing criminal process, the University is not at liberty to divulge additional information at this time.
