Ex-Atlanta Falcons linebacker groomed 13-year-old before sexual abuse, warrant says
After a day of fun at Six Flags Over Texas in July 2019, a 13-year-old Arlington boy spent the night with his friend and Atlanta Falcons linebacker Barkevious Mingo at an Arlington hotel where Mingo was staying.
The 13-year-old was asleep in one hotel bedroom and Mingo was in another room, the boy told police. Mingo was a relative of the 13-year-old boy’s friend.
But the 13-year-old boy told Arlington authorities that he woke up and found Mingo in bed with him, and Mingo pulled down the boy’s underwear, according to a warrant.
Mingo then poured lotion on the boy and committed a sex act on him, according to the warrant obtained this week by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The boy told police he was scared when that was going on.
The boy, now 15 years old, made an outcry earlier this year to Arlington detectives, who investigated the claim and arrested Mingo last week.
Mingo was arrested on a charge of indecency with a child, and later released after posting bail. He was terminated by the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday after they learned of his arrest.
“Mr. Mingo understands the seriousness of an accusation like this and the immediate negative impact it can have on a person’s reputation, even when there is zero evidence, but, he also knows that he will be fully vindicated when the truth comes to light,” Chris Lewis of Dallas, one of Mingo’s attorney, told WFAA-TV. “When that happens, the true motivation of the accuser will be clear and unambiguous.”
Mingo”s other attorney, Lukas Garcia, told WFAA-TV the allegations against his client are “completely baseless” and that Mingo is innocent.
“These allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue,” Garcia said. “Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive. We are confident when the truth comes to light, my client will be fully exonerated.”
The search warrant written by Arlington Detective Morgan Speer gave this account of the incident:
On July 4, 2019, Mingo was in Arlington.
The 13-year-old boy was invited by a friend to spend the day with him. Mingo also would be with the two.
The three of them spent the day at Six Flags Over Texas, K1 Speed and ate at BJ’s. Mingo paid for everything including a season pass to K1 Speed. He also allowed the boys to buy anything from a Nike website, which included a Nike Rainbow T-shirt, blue Nike shoes and Nike shorts. The items were shipped to the 13-year-old’s friend home in Arlington.
The warrant stated that Nike confirmed that purchases were made on July 4, 2019.
The Arlington detective noted that purchasing gifts for children is known as “grooming” behavior in child sexual abuse cases.
The 13-year-old boy told officials at Alliance for Children-Arlington that he was invited to spend the night with his friend and Mingo in Mingo’s Arlington hotel.
The teen told officials he went to bed, but he woke up about 3 a.m. and saw Mingo in his bed. The teen thought it was odd because the plan was for Mingo to sleep in another room, but he didn’t think much of it and went back to sleep.
The 13-year-old was awakened again when Mingo starting pulling at his underwear, but the young boy became scared and acted like he was asleep, according to the warrant.
At some point, the teen told officials Mingo committed a sex act on him.
An outside linebacker, Mingo signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with the Falcons in March. He was a 2013 first-round pick by the Cleveland Browns out of LSU.
He also had played for the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans and Chicago Bears.
