LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRQE) – Three former New Mexico State University men’s basketball players are now facing charges for reportedly hazing and sexually assaulting other players on the team. This comes after a months-long investigation by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office. “I can tell you that on the outset, I’m very concerned about the lack of urgency and the fact that this was something that went on for as long as it did,” Raúl Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General. 

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The charges were filed in Dona Ana County District Court and range from August 2022 to November 2022. According to court records, the charges for each individual are as follows:

Doctor Bradley

  • One count of criminal sexual penetration. 
  • Five counts of false imprisonment.
  • Five counts of criminal sexual contact. 
  • One count of conspiracy to commit criminal sexual contact.  
  • One count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment. 

Deshawndre Washington

  • One count of criminal sexual penetration. 
  • Five counts of false imprisonment. 
  • Five counts of criminal sexual contact. 
  • One count of conspiracy to commit criminal sexual contact.  
  • One count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.  

Kim Aiken Jr.

  • One count of criminal sexual penetration. 
  • Four counts of false imprisonment.
  • Four counts of criminal sexual contact. 
  • One count of conspiracy to commit criminal sexual contact. 
  • One count of conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.  

It accuses each of the players of numerous counts of criminal sexual contact, among other charges. Investigators claim all three former players hazed and sexually assaulted other teammates over at least four months in late 2022. Speaking on the charges Thursday, Attorney General Raúl Torrez says evidence was gathered through social media posts which he described as horrific. 

“A fairly significant sort of indication from witnesses and victims that a lot of these acts had been recorded in real-time or may have been communicated about in real-time, so a lot of text messages and things like that,” said Torrez. 

“The indictment filed against three former student athletes at New Mexico State University should serve as an unambiguous signal to everyone in this state that hazing will not be tolerated at our educational institutions,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “Players, coaches and administrators at every level are on notice that this type of violent conduct will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. They should also be aware that while this action is an important first step in addressing this inexcusable behavior, our work in correcting the culture that allowed these crimes to occur is far from finished.” 

Doctor Bradley, Kim Aiken Jr., and Deshawndre Washington were named in a lawsuit that was filed in April by former players William “Duece” Benjamin and Shak Odunewu. The lawsuit stated that the alleged hazing and sexual assault started in July 2022.

The lawsuit states in the summer of 2022, Bradley, Aiken Jr., and Washington ripped open the shower curtain and forced Odunewu to spin around and do squats as they slapped his bottom. Odunewu says Bradley filmed this incident.

The suit says the worst happened on Nov. 12 which was one week before the deadly shooting on UNM’s campus involving a different NMSU basketball player, Mike Peake. On Nov. 12, during a road game at the University of Texas at El Paso, the lawsuit claims the three players cornered Odunewu, taunted him, tackled him to the floor of the bus, pulled his pants, and sexually assaulted him. The suit claims the coaching staff was on the bus at the time and even one of the coaches turned around and yelled out, “Stop playing around.” Odunewu claims he informed coaches and they did nothing.

The incident that caused the NMSU program to cancel the rest of the men’s basketball season happened on the road in February. The lawsuit claims Duece Benjamin was pulled into a hotel room where “some players were with some young women.” The suit states Washington instructed Duece to pull down his pants in front of the women and says one player forcibly grabbed his privates.

The lawsuit also claims former head coach Greg Heiar, associate head coach Dominique Taylor, and the university did nothing about the allegations. When Duece’s father William, a former NMSU basketball player himself found out, that’s when the suit says the incidents were reported to police back in February. New Mexico State University agreed to pay $8 million to settle the lawsuit. Heiar, along with other coaching staff, were fired in the wake of the allegations.

Bradley was brought on to the roster at Nicholls State (La.) for the 2023-24 season, despite the bevy of allegations, lawsuits, university Title IX reports, KTSM reported. However, after the 13 felony charges were filed, a university spokesperson told KTSM on Thursday that Bradley is no longer a member of the Nicholls team. Aiken Jr. and Washington are not playing college basketball this season and may still be pursuing professional careers. Heiar is now the head coach at Mineral Area College, a junior college in Missouri.

A judge has set a Nov. 22 arraignment for Bradley, Aiken Jr. and Washington in Las Cruces. If convicted on all counts, the players face 24 to 27 years in prison.