December trial set for UNC player accused of sexual battery

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina football player charged with misdemeanor sexual battery and assault on a fellow student is scheduled for trial in December.

During a brief court hearing Thursday, attorneys reserved the weeks of Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 for the case against Allen Artis, a junior reserve linebacker suspended indefinitely from the team.

According to an arrest warrant, Artis had sex with the student against her will in February when he ''should have reasonably known that the other person was mentally incapacitated and physically helpless.''

The accuser and her attorney attended the hearing. She has said she filed for misdemeanor charges after police and prosecutors indicated there wasn't enough evidence for felony charges.

Artis has said the two had consensual sex. One of his attorneys said he passed a polygraph test.