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Baylor DE Sam Ukwuachu found guilty of sexual assault

Baylor defensive end Sam Ukwuachu was found guilty Thursday of sexually assaulting a then-Baylor soccer player in 2013.

A jury in the Waco, Texas, 54th State District Court convicted Ukwuachu, 22, of one count of sexual assault.

After the verdict, the judge ruled Ukwuachu's bond was insufficient and ordered him jailed. The punishment phase of the trial is to continue Friday. Ukwuachu faces up to 20 years in prison. He is seeking probation, the Waco Tribune reported.

Ukwuachu never played a game for Baylor after transferring from Boise State in 2013. The Broncos had dismissed him for an unspecified violation of team rules.

He was ineligible due to NCAA transfer rules in 2013 and suspended for the 2014 season.

Baylor investigated the sexual assault but determined there was not enough evidence to proceed and was going to allow Ukwuachu to play before the district attorney indicted him, according to the Tribune's report. The school also was prepared to let Ukwuachu return to the team if he had been found not guilty, his attorney told the Tribune before the trial.

Baylor said in a statement released to the Tribune on Thursday night that it is committed to "maintaining a safe and caring community."

"Acts of sexual violence contradict every value Baylor University upholds as a caring Christian community," the statement read. "In recent years we have joined university efforts nationally to prevent campus violence against women and sexual assault, to actively support survivors of sexual assault with compassion and care, and to take action against perpetrators."

The woman, who has since transferred, testified Ukwuachu assaulted her at his apartment and that she yelled "no" and screamed during the assault, according to reports. She also testified Ukwuachu told her, "This is not rape," and asked whether she was going to call the police.

Ukwuachu said the sex was consensual and that he had a previous relationship with the woman. He also disputed the testimony of an ex-girlfriend from his time at Boise State who said he had physically assaulted her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.