COLUMBIA, Mo. – A recruit for the University of Missouri men’s basketball team has been charged with rape and other offenses in connection with an alleged incident during a visit to Columbia, Missouri, last year, according to court documents obtained by FOX 2 News.
The Boone County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office formally filed charges Tuesday of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and second-degree kidnapping against Keiner Asprilla.
Court documents stated that, at the time of the alleged incident, Asprilla was living in New Jersey and was identified as a Colombian national. Investigators say his passport records revealed travel from Colombia to Miami, Florida, in August 2024.
Asprilla, born in 2006 per court records, was at least 18 years old when the charges were filed. According to NJ.com, a New Jersey-based news outlet, Asprilla was arrested in January and was ruled to stand trial as an adult on Tuesday over his criminal charges.
According to the Columbia Police Department’s probable cause statement, a Columbia, Missouri, hotel room was reserved for Asprilla as a “MU Men’s Basketball guest” in September 2024. The victim reported that the alleged offenses occurred in the hotel room during that time.
A 247Sports profile for Asprilla says he had a campus visit to Mizzou on Sept. 20, 2024, and was playing high school basketball at St. Peter’s Preparatory School in New Jersey.
Law enforcement reviewed images, video footage and phone messages related to the case prior to filing charges.
Asprilla currently appears on an inmates list in Boone County, Missouri, and has been ordered into custody without bond, according to online Missouri court records.