U of M football player facing charges for sexual assault in East Lansing

On Wednesday, December 21, Grant Perry, a sophomore wide receiver at University of Michigan, was arraigned in East Lansing. According to the Lansing State Journal’s reporter, Christopher Haxel, he is facing felony counts of assault, battery and resisting or obstructing an officer. He is also facing two misdemeanor accounts of sexual assault in the fourth degree, and a count of underage drinking.

The time and place of the offenses go back to October 15, when Perry was in East Lansing during a bye week of the Michigan football season. In East Lansing, he was accused of inappropriately touching a female outside of a bar. When law enforcement arrived, Perry allegedly refused arrest and subsequently injured one of the officer’s hands, leading to the count of obstructing an officer.

When Perry returned to U of M, he was initially suspended for two games (the second of which was MSU, which he wasn’t even allowed to travel for) for “disciplinary reasons,” according to Harbaugh at the time, and then allowed to return on the basis of the information given at the time. It was only in November when East Lansing officials released a statement asking for information about the incident and for anyone to contact them if they had any.

On Wednesday, Perry was officially charged in East Lansing. He was later released on a personal recognizance bond, according to statements from ELPD Lieutenant Scott Wriggelsworth.

“[Perry] was immediately and indefinitely suspended from all team activities” once coaches were informed about the legal processes that will further ensue in the case, according to a statement from Michigan’s Associate Athletic Director Dave Ablauf that was sent to the Lansing State Journal.

Due to the offenses, Perry could face up to two years in prison. Court records show that his preliminary hearing is set for January 5, and the pre-exam conference for the felony charge is set for December 29.