Don Hill accused in same investigation involving USC teammate Osa Masina
— -- USC?defensive end Don Hill has been sent home by the team amid an accusation that he was involved with a teammate in an alleged sexual assault, just as the Trojans finish preparing for their season opener against No. 1? Alabama?on Saturday night.
The university announced Friday that Hill was sent home "for a violation of team rules." The 20th-ranked Trojans will take on the top-ranked Crimson Tide at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
According to details in a search warrant and affidavit obtained by ESPN from Los Angeles Superior Court, Hill is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his off-campus apartment on July 15. The investigation also involves USC linebacker Osa Masina, who practiced on Tuesday but was not allowed to travel to Texas for the game.
Neither Masina nor Hill have been arrested or charged.?Masina also is under investigation for a separate sexual assault of the same woman in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, on July 26.
USC announced on Monday that Masina would not travel with the team for its opener. At that time, Trojans coach Clay Helton did not provide a specific reason, only that it was for "a violation of team rules." Helton said this week that the university decided to allow Masina to continue to practice and attend football-related meetings and class.
According to details from the court documents, the woman told Los Angeles Police Department investigators in an interview on Aug. 4 that she flew to Los Angeles from her home in Utah on July 14 to visit Masina, whom she has known since high school. The next day, while they hung out at a pool near campus, Masina gave her a Xanax pill and she drank wine, according to the affidavit. She took another Xanax pill later in the day and then accompanied Masina to Hill's apartment.
From there, the three stopped to purchase alcohol while on their way to a party at a fraternity house. The woman told investigators she drank before the party and again at the party before returning to Hill's apartment, the affidavit states.
The woman told investigators that she was "out of it" at that point and proceeded to smoke marijuana. She could only remember "bits and pieces" of the rest of the night and didn't feel like she was in control of what came next, according to the affidavit.
She told investigators she recalled having sex with Masina, but felt like she had no control and did not know how her clothes came off. She also recalled Hill having sex with her.
Investigators asked if she attempted to resist, but she told them that, as a result of her intoxication, she could not speak and could barely move, according to the affidavit. When she woke up the following morning, her clothes were on.
Masina also is alleged to have taken video of himself having sex with the woman without her knowledge or consent and distributing the video to the woman's former boyfriend through social media. The ex-boyfriend confirmed to police he received video of Masina having sex with the woman. He also told them she "did not appear to be alert," the affidavit states.
On July 30, the woman was interviewed by Cottonwood Heights police, and she told them of her encounter with Masina in the early-morning hours of July 26. She told police she drank alcohol and consumed edible marijuana at a residential party attended by Masina. After passing out, she awoke to Masina having sex with her, according to the affidavit.
Three days after that interview, authorities in Cottonwood Heights contacted USC's department of public safety, which then contacted the LAPD.
LAPD served a search warrant of Masina's apartment on Aug. 24 to recover his cellphone and take DNA samples.
ESPN's Shelley Smith contributed to this report.
