Administrators at a west metro Christian college have indefinitely banned from campus two student-athletes charged with trying to sexually assault a fellow male student, a school official said Monday.
Harvey M. Holcombe, 21, and roommate Michael F. Brewster, 23, were charged Friday in Carver County District Court with second-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the Valentine's Day incident that occurred at Crown College in St. Bonifacius.
Amy Luesse, director of human resources at Crown, said Holcombe and Brewster "will not be allowed on the college campus while the [criminal] investigation is pending."
Luesse declined to say whether either student was continuing to receive instruction off-campus from Crown.
The move to ban Holcombe and Brewster followed an investigation by the school, which turned over its findings to law enforcement, she said.
According to charges against both defendants filed in Carver County District Court:
Holcombe and Brewster arrived at the 19-year-old's on-campus apartment. The victim rolled out of bed and was on one knee when Holcombe knocked him down, sat on his chest and started making a sexual motion.
Brewster pulled the victim's pants to his ankles and attempted to sexually assault him with an object. The 19-year-old said he feared for his life during the attack.
One of the suspects described the incident as a prank that went awry, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement
Holcombe and Brewster were arrested and jailed. Both have since posted bail and have been released. Messages were left Monday for both defendants seeking their response to the allegations.
Holcombe, who is from Locust Grove, Va., is a senior and played four seasons on the soccer team.
Brewster, who is from La Crescent, Minn., is a junior and began his college athletic career playing football and later joined the tennis team.
Crown College has roughly 1,300 students and fields teams in various sports at the Division III level of the NCAA.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
