Sports

Wisconsin receiver pleads not guilty to sexual assault

11 of October 2018

FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2017, file photo, Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus stands on the sideline before the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis. Cephus is suing the school because he says a disciplinary probe it is conducting while he's trying to defend himself in a criminal sexual assault case violates his rights. Cephus was suspended from the Badgers in August after he was charged with sexually assaulting two drunken women in his apartment. Cephus says the sex was consensual. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File),FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2017, file photo, Wisconsin wide receiver Quintez Cephus stands on the sideline before the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Ohio State in Indianapolis. Cephus is suing the school because he says a disciplinary probe it is conducting while he's trying to defend himself in a criminal sexual assault case violates his rights. Cephus was suspended from the Badgers in August after he was charged with sexually assaulting two drunken women in his apartment. Cephus says the sex was consensual. (AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — University of Wisconsin receiver Quintez Cephus has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging that he sexually assaulted two drunken women in his apartment this past spring.

Cephus entered the plea to charges of second- and third-degree sexual assault during a hearing in Madison on Thursday.

Prosecutors allege that Cephus sexually assaulted both women simultaneously. Cephus says the sex was consensual, but prosecutors say they were too drunk to consent.

Cephus, who is suspended from the team, filed a lawsuit this week seeking to block a school disciplinary investigation into his actions, saying he can’t participate in it without hurting his ability to defend himself against the criminal charges.