Big Ten

The Latest: Judge refuses to drop charge against Cephus

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:42 p.m. ET

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on hearing in case of Wisconsin football player (all times local):

3 p.m.

A judge has ordered Wisconsin receiver Quintez Cephus to stand trial on charges that he sexually assaulted two drunken women this spring.

Dane County Circuit Judge Jill Karofsky on Tuesday rejected a motion from his attorneys to dismiss one of the counts alleging that the women weren't as impaired as investigators say. She later ordered him to stand trial after testimony at a preliminary hearing from a police detective who interviewed one of the alleged victims.

Prosecutors charged Cephus in August with second- and third-degree sexual assault, which are both felonies. The second-degree charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. According to a criminal complaint, Cephus sexually assaulted two drunken women at once in the bedroom of his apartment in April.

Cephus has denied any wrongdoing. He appeared in court Tuesday but did not testify.