July trial set for UNC player accused of sexual battery

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina football player charged with misdemeanor sexual battery and assault on a female student is scheduled to go on trial next month, though his attorney said the case has already "gone on too long."

Allen Artis appeared Friday for a brief court hearing addressing pretrial motions, though that came only after attorneys for both sides spent 3ˆ½ hours meeting with the judge outside the courtroom.

Some motions were deferred until another hearing on July 12, followed by a trial July 18 and 19.

"It's gone on too long," said Kerry Sutton, one of Artis' attorneys. "It's hurting both sides. It's painful to watch. It has to end."

Artis was charged in September stemming from an encounter in February 2016. According to an arrest warrant, Artis had sex with the student against her will when he should have known she was "mentally incapacitated and physically helpless." The warrant also said he pulled on her bra strap "causing an indentation on her shoulder/back."

Artis has said they had consensual sex and denied wrongdoing. His attorneys have said UNC determined he didn't violate campus policy in his contact with the student, while a misconduct decision could have led to his expulsion.

The woman, Delaney Robinson, attended Friday's hearing. The Associated Press typically doesn't identify people who say they are the victims of sexual assault, but Robinson held a September news conference, saying she had filed for the misdemeanor charges after police and prosecutors indicated there wasn't enough evidence to pursue felony charges.

Denise Branch, Robinson's attorney, declined to comment Friday.

The case was originally scheduled to go to trial in December before hitting delays. Orange County district attorney Jim Woodall said the July dates are "what we're shooting for."

Artis - a reserve linebacker from Marietta, Georgia - has been indefinitely suspended from the team due to the case. He said Friday he is still enrolled at UNC and is "keeping my options open" about returning to football.

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