The college playing career of one of Louisville’s top defensive recruits in the Class of 2014 may be grounded before ever getting the chance to take off.
According to TCPalm.com, linebacker Sharieff Rhaheed-Muhammad was arrested recently on a felony charge of lewd and lascivious behavior involving a victim between the ages of 12 and 16. Police had determined during the course of an investigation that began last year that, with a greater than 99.99 percent probability, Rhaheed-Muhammad fathered a child with a 14-year-old girl. The girl aborted the baby shortly after learning she was pregnant.
The girl claimed that, when she was 11, Rhaheed-Muhammad began touching her inappropriately. She also claimed that she and Rhaheed-Muhammad had consensual sex in June of 2013, which resulted in the aborted pregnancy.
From the newspaper’s story:The teen girl’s mother told police she bought a pregnancy test and confronted her daughter in October after seeing her daughter acting strangely. The mother said her daughter began crying, saying she had had sex with Rhaheed-Muhammad.
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The girl and her mother signed a prosecution waiver.
Head coach Bobby Petrino is aware of the serious charge facing Rhaheed-Muhammad, but has not publicly stated what if any future the player has in the Cardinals football program.
Rhaheed-Muhammad was a three-star member of the UofL’s class this year coming out of high school in Fort Pierce, Fla, rated by Rivals.com as the No. 40 outside linebacker in the class and the No. 73 player at any position in the talent-rich state. Along with cornerback De’Eric Culver, Rhaheed-Muhammad was the highest-rated defensive member of the Cardinals’ latest recruiting class.
(Photo credit: Rivals.com)