Rutgers Reinstates Wide Receiver Carroo After Charges Tossed

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) — The Rutgers football team reinstated wide receiver Leonte Carroo on Wednesday, a day after criminal charges against him were dropped.

Coach Kyle Flood said Carroo agreed to some undisclosed conditions and "accepted the responsibility" that comes with his return to the team.

The school announced the decision a day after a judge dismissed simple assault charges filed last month. Carroo was accused of attacking a woman he used to date amid a fight and slamming her onto concrete after a game last month.

A Piscataway municipal court judge dismissed the charges when the woman said she didn't want to testify against him. That came hours after another judge lifted a temporary restraining order because the woman said she didn't think it was necessary. Carroo and the woman signed a consent order, vowing to have no contact with each other.

There are still simple assault charges pending against the woman and others apparently involved in the fight, including Carroo's girlfriend, Maria Vega, and his mother, Lavern. They are scheduled to appear in municipal court this month.

Carroo answered "yes, your honor" to a series of questions from Municipal Court Judge Dennis Fackelman on Tuesday night, including whether he realizes how blessed he is to have the "kind of talent" to potentially play in the NFL, whether he's going to "act accordingly in the future" and whether he has respect for how prevalent domestic violence is in society.

Carroo, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior captain, was arrested after six current and three former Rutgers players were charged with a series of violent crimes.

In an unrelated matter, Flood was suspended for three games and fined $50,000 for improperly contacting an instructor regarding a grade of one of the players

Carroo didn't practice on Wednesday morning, but is eligible to play on Saturday when Rutgers hosts No. 4 Michigan State.

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