Sam Ukwuachu, Former Baylor DE, Seeking New Trial in Sexual Assault Case

Just over one month after being convicted of sexual assault, former Baylor defensive lineman Sam Ukwuachu is seeking a new trial in the case. 

According to Tommy Witherspoon of the Waco Tribune, Ukwuachu's attorney, William Bratton III, filed a motion on behalf of his client, citing "several points of error" from the original trial: 

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Bratton alleges in the motion that state prosecutors "repeatedly intimidated" Ukwuachu’s roommate, Ratu Peni Tagive, in an attempt to preclude his testimony.

"The state abused the grand jury process in its attempt to intimidate the witness, Ratu Peni Tagive, by using a grand jury subpoena to compel the attendance and testimony of Mr. Tagive approximately a month before trial and a year after the return of the indictment against the defendant," the motion claims.

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In addition to those allegations, the motion claims prosecutors admonished Baylor Associate Dean Bethany McCraw after her testimony in which she said the evidence in the case against Ukwuachu was "insufficient to 'move forward.'"

On August 22, per ESPN.com, Ukwuachu was sentenced to 180 days in jail, 10 years of felony probation and 400 hours of community service after he was found guilty on one count of sexual assault stemming from a 2013 incident. 

Baylor has hired outside attorneys to conduct an independent review of the school's internal investigation into the allegations against Ukwuachu, who transferred to the school after being dismissed from Boise State's football team in 2013, made by a female soccer player at the school.

Witherspoon noted that review of the investigation is still ongoing, and no date to hear Bratton's motion for a new trial has been set.