Creighton's Maurice Watson Turns Himself in on Sexual Assault Charges

Creighton basketball player Maurice Watson Jr. turned himself into police Sunday afternoon on charges of first-degree sexual assault, per Kevin Cole and Nancy Gaarder of the Omaha World-Herald.

Cole and Gaarder noted the arrest warrant for Watson was issued Thursday, and he turned himself in about an hour after "police issued a statement voicing concern about Watson's whereabouts and the fact that he'd not yet materialized."

Adam Krueger of CBS Omaha, Nebraska, shared Watson's mugshot:

According to Cole and Gaarder, Watson will make his initial court appearance Monday after spending Sunday in county jail.

Watson's attorneys denied the allegations and were also frustrated with the police statement on Sunday questioning his whereabouts.

"He was never dodging the police," attorney Mallory Hughes said, per Cole and Gaarder.

The attorneys said Watson found out about the arrest Thursday night through the media when he was in his hometown of Philadelphia rehabbing from a season-ending torn ACL. The attorneys said he and his family started driving 1,200 miles back to Omaha on Friday and were slowed by a snowstorm, explaining why he wasn't able to turn himself in until Sunday.

Cole and Gaarder cited the police report and wrote a fellow Creighton student said Watson had nonconsensual sexual intercourse with her on Feb. 4.