The Woman Accused Carmello Brooks *Didn’t* Say He Assaulted Her, And The Grand Jury Has Spoken

That assault charge against University of Houston football’s Carmello Brooks? It’s gone. A grand jury decided on Wednesday not to bring an indictment against the 19-year-old defensive lineman, completely wiping that specific accusation off his record. That’s a huge shift from where things stood just a couple of weeks ago.

The Accusation and The Rebuttal

Brooks, a sophomore defensive lineman, was arrested back on September 17 and charged with assault of a pregnant person. The allegations, according to charging documents, were wild: he was accused of picking up a woman and slamming her to the ground. Naturally, following that arrest, the football team suspended him. But here’s where it gets interesting, and frankly, pretty surprising. The woman Brooks was accused of assaulting publicly came forward and disputed those allegations herself. She went on two Houston TV stations, including ABC 13, and said Brooks had *not* assaulted her. Her version of the story? Brooks gently picked her up and moved her out of his apartment while they were in the middle of an argument. Talk about a plot twist, right?

One Charge Down, Another Still Pending

So, the grand jury heard all that, looked at the evidence, and decided nope, no indictment on the assault charge. That’s a massive hurdle cleared for Brooks. But here’s the kicker: it’s not totally over for the young lineman. He’s also been charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief in connection with a different incident. In that one, he’s accused of damaging a door during an argument with another woman. As of Friday, that charge is still pending. The University of Houston didn’t immediately respond to questions about Brooks’ status with the team on Friday morning, and his lawyer couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. So, while one massive hurdle is cleared for Brooks, that misdemeanor charge for criminal mischief is still out there. And for now, the University of Houston isn’t saying a peep about whether he’s back with the team. Guess we’ll be waiting to see what’s next for the sophomore.

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Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.