Former Baylor basketball student manager gets deferred probation in sex assault of fellow student

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A former student manager of Baylor University’s national championship basketball team was placed on deferred probation Monday in the March 2021 sexual assault of a female student.

Judge Susan Kelly of Waco’s 54th State District Court accepted the plea agreement between the state and Nicholas Joseph Muhlenpoh. Kelly sentenced Muhlenpoh to deferred probation for seven years, fined him $1,000 and ordered him to perform 300 hours of community service.

Muhlenpoh, 22, a former finance and marketing major from Plano, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony sexual assault in February and is no longer a Baylor student. He was in Indianapolis last year with the Baylor team during its March Madness title run but was sent home after the allegations came to light.

McLennan County District Attorney Barry Johnson said it is his office’s job to “see that justice is done.”

“We discussed the matter in detail with the victim and we feel like it was a just result,” Johnson said.

Muhlenpoh’s attorney, Rob Swanton, said he also thinks the case was resolved fairly.

“We appreciate that this has been a difficult process for everyone involved and has affected both parties and their families,” Swanton said. “I hope that this outcome can bring some sense of resolution and closure.”

In deferred probation cases, there is no final judgment of guilt if the defendant completes the terms and conditions of probation.

Baylor spokeswoman Lori Fogleman said in a statement Monday that “the safety and security of our students continues to be our utmost priority.”

“We remain fully committed to following appropriate Title IX policies, guidelines and procedures,” she said

The student gave a lengthy victim-impact statement via teleconference Monday morning. She told Muhlenpoh, who also appeared via teleconference, that she had hoped he would have taken more responsibility for his actions because she heard he denied the assault to mutual friends, despite his guilty plea. She said she wants him to make better choices and to “do better.”

The woman said the assault left her sleepless, traumatized her emotionally and caused her grade-point average to plummet. She said the incident also deeply affected her friends and family members.

The female student reported March 20, 2021, that Muhlenpoh sexually assaulted her at his residence in the 1900 block of South 19th Street. She told police she had been drinking at a party March 6 and Muhlenpoh offered to give her a ride home. Instead, he took her to his residence, according to court documents filed in the case.

The woman told Muhlenpoh “she was uncomfortable” with his sexual advances and that she did not want to have sex, reports state. However, Muhlenpoh continued, she reported to police. As Muhlenpoh persisted, the woman told him to stop and that he was hurting her, arrest affidavits state.

She tried to push Muhlenpoh off of her but she told police he was too big and that he held her arms down. He eventually stopped and fell asleep, allowing the woman to leave. She reported that she walked home barefoot, crying.

According to affidavits, the woman and two friends later confronted Muhlenpoh and he apologized to her.

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