WVU running back, second man charged with sexual assault

BENWOOD, W.Va. -- A freshman running back for West Virginia University and another man have been charged with sexually assaulting a woman following a weekend party.

Mark Robert Sampson Jr., an 18-year-old walk-on from Glen Dale, and Carson Dale Koontz, 19, of Moundsville, are both charged with four counts of second-degree sexual assault, Police Lt. Dave McLaughlin said Tuesday.

The 17-year-old woman told police the two men picked her up from a party and forced her to have sex with them in a parking lot of a former school just after midnight Saturday.

Coach Bill Stewart was aware of the situation.

"I am looking into it and gathering the facts at this time," he said in a statement on Tuesday. "We'll make a decision on how we're going to handle this situation pending the legal process."

Sampson is "a good kid" who comes from a good family, said his attorney, Herman Lantz. He declined to discuss specifics, but said that "the whole story will come out" during the court proceedings.

Koontz does not yet have an attorney.

Both men are free on bond.