Ex-Baylor Samuel Ukwuachu's Rape Conviction Overturned and Sent for Retrial

The 2015 sexual assault conviction of former Baylor football player Samuel Ukwuachu was overturned Thursday by the 10th Court of Appeals.

According to KWTX, questions regarding the validity of evidence used to convict Ukwuachu played a role in the decision. Ukwuachu will now receive a new trial in district court.

As part of the appeal, defense attorneys argued that the times attached to Ukwuachu's cellphone records—specifically with regard to correspondence between Ukwuachu and his roommate—were incorrect.

Per KWTX, the ruling handed down Thursday pointed toward that issue as the deciding factor:

"

In six issues, Ukwuachu complains that the trial court erred by allowing the State to reference the cell phone records of his roommate during its cross-examination of his roommate and his roommate's friend, that the indictment was defective, that evidence of an extraneous offense was improperly admitted, that his due process rights were violated due to an abuse of the grand jury process by the State, and that text messages between the victim and a friend of hers the night of the alleged offense were improperly excluded.

[...]

Because we find that the trial court erred by disallowing the admission of evidence ... we reverse the judgment of conviction and remand this proceeding for a new trial.

"

Following Ukwuachu's conviction on one count of sexual assault against a former Baylor women's soccer player, he was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 10 years probation and 400 hours of community service.

Ukwuachu played one season at Boise State before being dismissed for undisclosed reasons, and he never appeared in a game at Baylor.