UCLA Football Player Arrested In 2014 Rape
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A UCLA football player has been arrested on suspicion of rape in connection with an attack last year, authorities said Friday.
Bruins sophomore punter Adam Searl, 20, was arrested Thursday and booked on suspicion of three counts of rape, Los Angeles police Officer Jack Richter said.
Searl was released late Thursday night after posting $300,000 bail, according to the sheriff's department. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance Oct. 29.
The Bruins walk-on punter is accused of raping a woman on Oct. 19, 2014, after she met him outside of an off-campus house party in Westwood. Searl allegedly accompanied the woman to a nearby residence where she fell asleep, and she awoke to find him sexually assaulting her, LAPD officials said.
After an exhaustive joint investigation by the LAPD and UCLA campus police, the woman identified Searl as her attacker, officials said.
No other details of the alleged assault were immediately released.
UCLA released a statement Friday, acknowledging Searl's arrest.
"We have been informed of the situation involving Adam Searl, and we take these accusations very seriously," UCLA head football coach Jim Mora said in the statement. "Adam has been suspended from the team indefinitely while the legal process runs its course. Due to the ongoing police investigation, we are unable to discuss this matter further at this time."
Searl has punted five times this year for the Bruins, averaging 39 years per kick. He previously played football at Irvine High School.
Anyone with information about this crime or who believes they are also a victim can call LAPD's Operations West Bureau -- Special Assault Section at (213) 473-0447.
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