Crosley MacEachen
Update, Aug. 12: Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters said Thursday that the rape indictment that was filed against Crosley MacEachen last month has been dismissed.
“Information came to light after MacEachen was indicted that has charged ur understanding of this case,” Deters’ statement began. “This dismissal is not a comment on the guilt or innocence of MacEachen.”
“Our job as prosecutors is to seek justice. It is not to seek convictions,” Deters added. “We have an ethical obligation to only proceed on cases where we believe there is a likelihood of success at trial. Based on the information we have today, we will not be proceeding further.”‘
Read more here.
The original story from July 21 appears below.
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A standout football star at one of the top private Christian high schools in Ohio is facing several felony charges for allegedly raping a female classmate while she was asleep, state prosecutors said.
A grand jury in Hamilton County returned an indictment for 18-year-old Crosley MacEachen on charges of rape, sexual battery, and gross sexual imposition, per documents filed in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas. MacEachen recently graduated from Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy—an exclusive private school that charges upwards of $16,000 per year in tuition—and had committed to play football at the University of St. Francis in Indiana next year.
A female student at the school filed a police report stating that MacEachen forcibly raped her after a friend’s party on December 5, 2020.
According to reports from several local news outlets, the 18-year-old alleged victim said that after she attended her friend’s party she then slept over at the house, in her friend’s bedroom. A few hours after she went to sleep, at approximately 5 a.m., the victim said she woke up to find that MacEachen had removed all of her clothes and was “on top of her” having sex with her. MacEachen at the time was the boyfriend of the friend whose party the victim attended and whose house she was sleeping over.
Once she regained her senses, the victim said she pushed MacEachen off of her and kicked him out of the room, locking the door behind him. She then left with a friend who had slumbered overnight in the downstairs portion of the house.
Citing court documents, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that approximately one month before the alleged rape took place, the alleged victim was in the bedroom of a Sycamore Township home when MacEachen supposedly came in and “grabbed her buttocks.” Per the report, the victim then sat down on the bed, but when she tried to stand, MacEachen allegedly “pushed her back down.” She then allegedly ran out of the room and waited in her car for MacEachen to leave the home.
MacEachen was arrested in June and was released on $100,000 bond.
MacEachen’s attorney Scott Croswell released a statement to several news organizations emphasizing that the charges against his client were “unproven allegations,” adding, “we intend to aggressively defend the case.”
Croswell did not immediately respond to an email from Law&Crime regarding the case.
Before graduating this year, MacEachen played cornerback and wide receiver for Christian Academy, which was named the top Christian high school in the state of Ohio.
The Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy released the following statement on the matter:
“CHCA has learned of an investigation which has resulted in charges filed against a former student. The alleged incident did not occur on school property nor during a school-sponsored event. CHCA is saddened for the individuals and families affected by this alleged incident, and our prayers remain with them.”
Reggie Hayes, a spokesperson for the University of Saint Francis, told The Daily Beast that the school was aware of the allegations against “one of its football recruits” and noted that MacEachen had withdrawn from the school.
Read the grand jury indictment below.
[image via Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office]
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