Murphy Jr., NC State's former director of sports medicine, faces nine felony counts of sexual contact under pretext of medical treatment and 23 misdemeanor counts of sexual battery following his arrest in Florida this week. Law enforcement officials picked up Murphy on Wednesday night on out-of-state fugitive warrants from North Carolina and he's being held in the Marion County jail awaiting transfer. More than 30 former male NC State student-athletes have accused Murphy of sexual abuse.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told the this week that Murphy's indictment through a Wake County (N.C.) grand jury came after 14 alleged victims were interviewed by authorities. According to a police report obtained by ESPN, an initial criminal complaint was filed with campus police by former men's soccer player Ben Locke in 2022. More than two dozen other former male athletes joined the civil lawsuit against Murphy, which has now turned into a criminal legal situation.
"Sexual misconduct of any kind is unacceptable," the university said in a statement Thursday. "The health and safety of students and student-athletes is paramount to N.C. State Athletics and the university.
We are aware of the charges filed by Wake County against Robert Murphy. We will cooperate with law enforcement in this matter." The original lawsuit claims former men's soccer coach Kelly Findley allegedly told a senior official in the athletic department in 2016 that Murphy was engaging in conduct "consistent with 'grooming' behavior." Murphy was reassigned in 2013 but resumed working with the soccer team in 2014. NC State's Title IX investigation in 2022 into Locke's claims about Murphy determined that the former director of sports medicine's conduct was "unwelcome and of a sexual nature," "pervasive" and "sufficiently severe," according to redacted documents obtained by ESPN.
Murphy worked at the university from 2012-22. He resigned in 2022 prior to completion of the Title IX investigation. Attorneys Jared Hammett and Seth Blum, who have represented Murphy in various civil lawsuits, said Thursday in a statement to the they're confident their client will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
"We are very disappointed that the Wake County District Attorney's office would choose to prosecute based on a changing story," Hammett and Blum said. "Four years ago law enforcement concluded there was not enough to support charges. Apparently, after enough careful editing, someone came up with a story that got a prosecutor's attention.
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