College QB threatened to kill victim and himself before rape, prosecutor says

Charlotte 49er quarterback Kevin Olsen, charged Sunday with rape and other crimes, threatened to strangle himself with a phone charger moments before sexually assaulting his accuser, a Mecklenburg County prosecutor said in court Monday morning.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Olsen is expected to be freed on $103,000 bond later today on three counts of felony second-degree forcible rape, communicating threats, assault on a female and second-degree sex offense (forcible fondling). The incident occurred at 3:30 a.m. Sunday at Olsen’s apartment in University City, near the UNCC campus, according to Assistant District Attorney Kristen Northrup. Olsen and his accuser were dating, authorities said.

Olsen, 22, spent Sunday night in jail. He is the brother of Carolina Panthers’ tight end Greg Olsen.

Deputies brought Olsen, who wore an orange jail jumpsuit, into the courtroom just after 10 a.m. today. As his parents sat a few rows behind him, Olsen stood expressionless beside his defense attorney, occasionally flicking his blonde bangs out of his eyes. Across the courtroom, Northrup read details of the charges to Mecklenburg District Judge Gary Henderson.

According to Northrup, Olsen and the 23-year-old woman went out drinking Saturday night but had gotten separated. During their time apart, Northrup said, Olsen sent the woman a text message threatening to kill her.

Eventually, the pair reunited and used Uber to get back to Olsen’s apartment early Sunday morning. There, Northrup said, Olsen remained upset about the evening “and some events in his life.” He grabbed a phone charger and wrapped it around his neck, threatening to kill himself, the prosecutor said.

The victim, according to Northrup, calmed Olsen down. But the argument flared up again. Olsen first struck her with a pillow, then punched her in the face, Northrup said.

He then assaulted her three times, Northrup said, with the victim crying at some point during the attack.

When Olsen fell asleep, the woman slipped out of the apartment and called a friend, Northrup said. Police reached her at Carolinas HealthCare System University, where the woman was found to have vaginal injuries and bruising around one of her eyes.

Olsen’s case was the first one called in Courtroom 4130, which was holding hearings on a lengthy docket of domestic violence and other assault cases. Men sat on the left side of the room, women on the right. Olsen’s parents, Chris and Sue Olsen, sat across the main aisle from each other, separated by a divider. Defense attorney George Laughrun turned and identified the couple to Henderson, though they remained seated.

Olsen, a one-time top high school football recruit who played for his father in New Jersey, ended the last season as a backup quarterback for UNCC. He has been suspended from the football team and will move back in with his parents, Laughrun told the judge. It’s unclear whether Olsen is still enrolled in the school.

Olsen has been drummed off of the football teams at the University of Miami and Towson State due to off-field disciplinary problems including drugs and driving under the influence. He appeared to have won the starting quarterback job at Miami in 2014 but left the team and school without playing a down.

This story was originally published February 20, 2017 at 1:27 PM with the headline "College QB threatened to kill victim and himself before rape, prosecutor says."