The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals announced Wednesday morning that it will take a new look at the sexual assault case against former Baylor University football player Samuel Ukwuachu.
A jury convicted Ukwuachu of sexual assaulting a fellow student in 2015. In July of 2019, Waco’s 10th Court of Appeals ordered that he should receive a new trial.
The court made that decision based on the prosecution’s use of Ukwuachu’s rooommate’s phone records, calling it a due process violation.
Right after the court’s ruling, state prosecutors filed a request for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to hold a discretionary review of the case. They argue the lower court’s decision used a “false testimony framework that is incompatible with even its own review of the facts.”
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted the request for a review.
After the original conviction, the jury sentenced Ukwuachu to 180 days in jail, plus ten years probation. He also had to register as a sex offender.
FOX44 News has reached out to Ukwuachu’s attorney for reaction to Wednesday’s ruling, but haven’t received a response at this time.