Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Wisconsin football recruit accused of sex assault

Dominic Cizauskas

AP Photo/Dane County Jail via Wisconsin State Journal

This undated photo provided by the Dane County Jail via the Wisconsin State Journal shows Dominic Cizauskas.

MADISON, Wis. — A University of Wisconsin football recruit was charged Monday with the sexual assault of a woman in her dorm room on the Madison campus in December.

Dominic Cizauskas, 18, a linebacker from Mukwonago, was charged in Dane County with third-degree sexual assault, a felony.

According to the complaint, Cizauskas allegedly showed up at the woman's dorm drunk on Dec. 14, undressed her and sexually assaulted her after the two had exchanged text messages.

Cizauskas appeared in court Monday and was released on a signature bond, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Cizauskas was ordered not to have any contact with the woman or to be anywhere on the Madison campus. He's due back in court March 31.

Cizauskas orally committed to attend Wisconsin last June but did not sign a letter of intent in February. Wisconsin Athletic Department spokesman Brian Lucas said that Cizauskas has not signed a letter of intent he is still a prospective student-athlete, meaning the university is not allowed to comment on his recruitment under NCAA rules.

As a senior in high school, the 6-foot-2, 250-pound Cizauskas was named the state's defensive player of the year by the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police that Cizauskas was visiting UW-Madison Dec. 13-15. She had been in contact with him by text message, and about 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 14 he sent her a racy message suggesting he come visit. The woman told police she was studying for a final exam that night and tried to dissuade Cizauskas from coming over.

Surveillance video showed him arriving at the dorm shortly before 1 a.m. The woman said Cizauskas walked into her unlocked room after she heard him in the hall asking for directions.

"I tried to make excuses trying to get him to leave," the woman told police, adding that she told him "no" several times. "I didn't know what to do. I was by myself, my roommate went home for the weekend and he's a 200-pound football player and he had been drinking."

Cizauskas's defense attorney did not immediately respond to phone messages and an email left by The Associated Press Monday night.

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