Ex-Florida DT, NFL Draft prospect Caleb Brantley charged with striking woman in face

By Adam Silverstein
April 23, 2017
Ex-Florida DT, NFL Draft prospect Caleb Brantley charged with striking woman in face
Football

Image Credit: UAA

An incident involving Florida Gators defensive tackle Caleb Brantley and a woman, which initially resulted in no charges for either party, has taken a turn as Brantley is now charged with misdemeanor battery for striking the woman in the face, according to Alachua County Court records.

A sworn complaint filed with the Gainesville Police Department reads that Brantley and the victim were “engaged in a verbal altercation due to crude comments made by [Brantley].” The victim responded by pushing Brantley, to which Brantley allegedly “responded by striking the [victim] in the face, knocking her unconscious.”

The victim “sustained dental injuries” including a lost tooth from the strike, which allegedly consisted of “force [that] far exceeded what was reasonable or necessary” and was “clearly out of retaliation and not self-defense,” per the complaint.

Two witnesses are listed on the sworn complaint, one of which said Brantley allegedly used a “closed fist.”

The initial simple battery report listed Brantley as the victim on Thursday, April 13. It was written that he was allegedly hit in the face multiple times by 20-year-old Chelsea Austin, who claimed Brantley “disrespected her” and admitted to starting the altercation.

Brantley told police at that time that Austin “approached him and hit him in the face” after being angry that Brantley would not sleep with her as he did one of her friends, so he “pushed her out of his space.”

The GPD listed “hands, feet, fists and spitting” as the weapons used in its first report, and “multiple different witnesses” on the scene “corroborated Brantley’s series of events.” He chose not to file a complaint against Austin at the time.

Brantley, one of the top five defensive tackles available in the 2017 NFL Draft this week, was projected to be a second-day pick after leaving the program following his redshirt junior season with one year of eligibility remaining.

The Alligator‘s Patrick Pinak first reported the new charges.

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