A University of Houston football player is facing a criminal charge after court documents allege he picked up a pregnant woman and slammed her to the ground, knowing she was pregnant. Carmello Dedric Brooks, 19, a defensive lineman on the Cougars roster, was arrested Thursday and has since posted a $15,000 bond.
Brooks faces a charge of assault on a pregnant individual, according to court documents cited by ABC13. The documents allege he caused bodily injury to the victim by picking her up and slamming her on the ground while knowing she was pregnant. A judge ordered Brooks to have no contact with the victim, and his status as a University of Houston student was confirmed during his court appearance, the station reported.
Brooks, a sophomore from Katy, was arrested by university police, according to Click2Houston. He has not been part of the UH football travel squad because of his position on the roster, and university police had not released additional information about what led to his arrest as of Thursday.
School Says It's Gathering Information
A University of Houston Athletics spokesperson said the school was aware of the incident and was still collecting details. “We take all allegations of this nature very seriously and are gathering more information,” the spokesperson said, per the same account from Click2Houston. FOX 26 Houston reported that it reached out to the university directly, receiving a similar statement: the school said it was aware of an incident involving a Houston football student-athlete and was gathering more information.
Current court documents in this case do not specify additional details about the alleged incident itself, according to FOX 26 Houston's reporting. Records also point to an earlier matter involving a different pregnant woman, after which Brooks had reportedly been wanted since August, per Click2Houston's report. In that case, he was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief and a warrant for his arrest was filed, though additional details about that earlier case were not available.
What Remains Unclear
Neither the extent of any injuries to the victim in Thursday's case nor the current status of the assault charge has been made public. Brooks was booked into the Harris County jail before posting bond, and no response from Brooks or his attorney has been released. University police have not said what specifically prompted the arrest beyond confirming it took place.
