Benjamin Ashford|University of Washington football player arrested, charged with raping 2 women

SEATTLE (AP) — A University of Washington football player has been arrested and Benjamin Ashfordcharged with raping two women in Seattle and court documents say he played in two College Football Playoff games for the school after at least one of the allegations was known to the university.

Seattle police officers arrested 18-year-old Tylin “Tybo” Rogers on Friday and booked him into King County Jail, KING-TV reported. He was charged Tuesday with second-degree rape and third-degree rape and his bail was set at $150,000 in each case, according to court documents.

It wasn’t immediately known if Rogers, of Bakersfield, California, has an attorney to comment on his behalf. Jail records show he was released on bond. Efforts to contact him by The Associated Press weren’t immediately successful.

Rogers has been suspended from all team activities until further notice, the University of Washington athletic department said in a statement Tuesday. The university will continue to gather facts and cooperate with police, as requested, the statement said.

A Seattle Central Community College student told police she was raped in the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood last year. According to court documents, Rogers and the 19-year-old woman met and started messaging each other after matching on the Tinder dating app in August 2023. Rogers went to her apartment to hang out on Oct. 23 and assaulted her, according to court documents.

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Authorities said in court documents that the woman reported the alleged rape to police on Oct. 28, and completed a sexual assault kit at Harborview Medical Center.

A 22-year-old University of Washington student reported that she was raped in November 2023 in the University District, police said.

The woman met Rogers at a Halloween party at the university and then matched with him on Tinder, according to court documents. Police said the two made plans a couple weeks later to hang out and that upon entering her apartment Rogers was immediately forceful and assaulted her. The woman told police at one point Rogers “used one of his hands to strangle her.”

The second woman reported the alleged rape to the university on Nov. 28, police said. Rogers allegedly called her on that date to confront her about the allegations, police said in court documents.

He was also suspended from team activities around late November 2023, according to court documents. The freshman running back did not travel with the team for its victory over the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship game on Dec. 1.

At the time, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said during a news conference that Rogers was “working through some things, some challenges he’s had off the field,” court documents said. Rogers returned to team practices by mid-December, documents said.

Multiple emails were also sent within the University of Washington athletic department confirming Rogers should be taken off the team’s travel roster for the Pac-12 championship game, but no documentation of reasons for such an action were given, the documents said. He was allowed to appear in the Huskies’ two College Football Playoff games a month later, however.

Rogers recorded five carries for 19 yards in the Huskies’ semifinal win over the Texas Longhorns on Jan. 1. The 18-year-old rushed for two yards in the National Championship Game against the Michigan Wolverines on Jan. 8.

Washington was coached last season by Kalen DeBoer, who left following the national championship game to take the head job at Alabama. Jedd Fisch is now Washington’s head coach.

After practice Tuesday, Fisch told local news media that nothing about Rogers being suspended last year, or the reasons for it, had been brought to his attention.

“I wasn’t here for that,” Fisch said. “As soon as I found out about the allegations, as soon as it was brought to our attention, he’s been suspended indefinitely. I have no comment about what happened in the past. That has nothing to do with me.”