An Iowa State football player has been arrested for allegedly breaking a woman’s back and proceeding to sexually assault her.
Aidan Ralph, a redshirt sophomore linebacker for the Cyclones, was arrested Tuesday in Ames, Iowa, for a Dec. 3 incident in which he accused a woman of cheating on him and shoved her multiple times, including once into a stairwell, according to a police affidavit.
The woman, who reportedly suffered a stress fracture in her spine, allegedly implored Ralph to call an ambulance as she lay without mobility, but he refused.
She claimed he removed her pants to examine the injury and help relieve her pain, and subsequently began to rape her.
According to the criminal complaint, the woman had visible swelling and Ralph admitted to shoving her into the stairs.
Ralph, 20, has been charged with domestic abuse and third degree sexual abuse according to Story County Sheriff’s Office records.
He is facing up to 12 years in prison, including 10 year for the sexual assault, a class C felony in Iowa.
Iowa State’s athletic department said in a statement that the 6-foot-2 Ralph “is no longer a member of the Iowa State football program.”
He did not appear in a game for Iowa State during his freshman season; a link to his bio on the school’s athletics website currently leads to an error page.
Ralph posted the $11,000 bail on Wednesday, according to The Athletic.
He was assigned a public defender and ordered not to have any contact with the alleged victim.
His next court hearing is scheduled for May 15.
