A former UF track and field athlete accused of sexually assaulting a woman in June has moved one step closer to resolving his case after the State Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against him last week.
Dumisane Hlaselo, a South African native, was charged with sexual battery on an incapacitated victim — a first-degree felony — on Sept. 15 by the 8th Circuit State Attorney’s Office and prosecutor Deborah Hunt following more than three months of investigation.
The 22-year-old’s defense attorney, Huntley Johnson Jr., confirmed that a first-degree felony is the lone charge at this point. Johnson is hoping to have the case resolved within the next 60 days.
Hlaselo, who also raced cross country as a junior for the Gators following his transfer from the University of the Free State in South Africa, has been held in the Alachua County Jail since his arrest on June 28 for an incident that occurred 16 days earlier.
According to a Gainesville Police Department report, in the early morning hours of June 12, Hlaselo entered his roommate’s bedroom at 7 SW 23rd St., and had sex with a semi-conscious woman without her permission.
Under the state of Florida’s sexual battery statutes, Hlaselo’s charge is described as happening, “When the offender, without the prior knowledge or consent of the victim, administers or has knowledge of someone else administering to the victim any narcotic, anesthetic, or other intoxicating substance which mentally or physically incapacitates the victim.”
According to the GPD report, after initially denying having sexual contact with the woman when interviewed on the day of the incident, Hlaselo later confessed to having non-consensual sex with her when questioned again by police.
The 5-foot-7, 125-pound distance runner was arrested. He was immediately dismissed from the UF track and field program.
In his 10 months of competition on both the men’s cross country and track teams, Hlaselo racked up four individual victories, including the 2011 Southeastern Conference Championship in the 3,000-meter run, and became the first athlete in school history to run a sub-four minute mile.
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
