Barkevious Mingo, a linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons, sexually abused a teenage boy he groomed through lavish spending, police said in documents obtained by Sports Illustrated. The team released him on Saturday after news of his arrest.
According to the Arlington Police Department in Texas, Mingo invited two teenage boys to hang out with him. One of them was a family member of his, and the other was that boy’s friend. He took them to Six Flags Over Texas amusement park, the K1 Speed go-kart complex, and the BJ’s restaurant steakhouse, officers said. He allegedly took them on an online shopping spree, getting them stuff from the Nike website. Mingo allegedly covered all expenses that day. This included a season pass at K1 Speed, police said.
The situation culminated when the boys visited Mingo at a hotel he was staying at on the night of July 4, 2019, officers said. The account is that the teenagers were supposed to be sleeping in a room separate from the 6’5″ linebacker. But the victim in this case said he woke up to find Mingo in bed with him, police reportedly said. At first, he only thought it was odd and went back to sleep, but woke up again to find Mingo pulling at his underwear, cops said. The NFL player allegedly pulled the underwear down to the boy’s shins.
Police describe sexual abuse involving Mingo allegedly applying lotion that made the boy’s skin burn. There was alleged, thorough contact with the teenager’s private areas. According to cops, this case ended up on their radar when the boy’s mother told police in January 2021. Officers applied for a search warrant for Nike’s sale records from July 4, 2019. They said the “evidence will corroborate the victim’s statements.”
Mingo was arrested Thursday and faces a count of indecency with a child–sexual contact. His attorney denies the claim.
A statement from the Lukas Garcia, attorney for #Falcons LB Barkevious Mingo, who was recently charged with indecency with a child. Garcia calls the charge “completely baseless: pic.twitter.com/OksG4Xe414
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 10, 2021
“The allegations out of Tarrant County against my client are completely baseless,” attorney Lukas Garcia wrote in a statement obtained by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “Barkevious Mingo is innocent. At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue. Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive. We are confident when the truth come to light, my client will be fully exonerated.”
[Screengrab via CBS Boston]
