Suspended Penn State player Scott arraigned for assault

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Suspended Penn State running back Austin Scott has been accused of raping a woman at his on-campus apartment after meeting up with her at a bar.

Scott, 22, was arraigned Friday on charges of rape, sexual assault and two counts of aggravated indecent assault, all felonies, in connection with the Oct. 5 encounter.

According to court documents, Scott acknowledged that the woman did not initially want to have sex. Investigators, paraphrasing Scott’s statement, wrote that Scott said, “Girls will say that they do not want to have sex, but then they get to your room, things heated up and they change their mind.”

The woman told police that she was scared and “went along with it because she was afraid defendant was going to hurt her,” according to court documents.

Scott declined to comment as he left the courtroom Friday.

“The interaction he had with the woman involved was consensual, and we anticipate we will be able to prove that in court,” said his lawyer, Joseph Amendola. “Very optimistic. We’re looking forward to the opportunity of establishing his innocence.”

Authorities said the encounter occurred in the early morning hours of Oct. 5. Coach Joe Paterno suspended Scott later that day, and the school announced the next day that the tailback had violated an unspecified team rule.

Scott also faces two misdemeanor counts of indecent assault and one misdemeanor count of simple assault. He was released on $50,000 unsecured bail and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim.