Former Michigan State football player Auston Robertson violated conditions of his bond for sexual assault charges when he was arrested on suspicion of aggravated armed robbery in Kansas earlier this week.
Robertson was charged with two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct last summer for allegedly forcing a woman into non-consensual sex at her apartment near Michigan State's campus last April. Robertson pleaded not guilty to those charges and was scheduled to go to trial in Michigan next month.
Ingham County Judge Clinton Canady had allowed Robertson to move to Kansas and play football at Garden City Community College -- the 2016 national champion at the junior college level -- while he awaited trial.
Canady revoked Robertson's bond at a hearing Thursday morning after learning he had been arrested again.
The Ingham County Prosecutor's office released a statement Thursday saying it hopes revoking Robertson's bond will allow his case in Michigan to continue moving forward.
"Our office previously objected to the bond conditions that allowed the defendant to travel out of state," prosecutor Carol Siemon said. "While hindsight is of course 20-20, we believed at the time that continued placement here in Ingham County would allow the court to properly supervise this defendant during the pre-trial phase. It is always disconcerting when a criminal defendant fails the conditions of their bond and we believe the courts have now taken the proper action."
Police in Kansas arrested Robertson on Monday on suspicion of aggravated armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, distribution of marijuana and interfering with law enforcement officers and are holding him on a $300,000 bond. He has not yet been formally charged with any of those crimes.
If he leaves police custody in Kansas, he will need to report to authorities in Michigan because his bond there has been revoked.
Robertson, 20, was previously arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge while in high school after a female classmate accused him of touching her inappropriately. Michigan State delayed signing Robertson to a scholarship in 2016 while the legal process for that charge played out.
Coach Mark Dantonio dismissed Robertson in April 2017 when he was charged with criminal sexual conduct after one season with the team.
Robertson's sexual assault trial was scheduled to begin May 14, according to Brent Leder, the attorney who represents Robertson in that case. However, Leder said that trial might be put on hold while Robertson sorts through his legal issues in Kansas.
Leder said he does not represent Robertson in those matters and did not know any details of that arrest.
"We had a very brief conversations related to the hearing that was scheduled for [Thursday], and I gave him some basic legal advice," Leder said.
Robertson was one of four former Michigan State football players charged with sexual assault crimes last summer. In a separate case, Josh King, Donnie Corley and Demetric Vance pleaded guilty to seduction charges earlier this month as part of an agreement that will likely keep them out of prison. The sentencing hearing for those three players is scheduled to take place June 6.