Weightlifter at Lindenwood Charged With Sexual Abuse

A weightlifter for Lindenwood University in suburban St. Louis has been charged with sexually abusing a drunken man in a dormitory room.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 18-year-old Blace Eckols was released Thursday after posting bond. He's charged with three counts of first-degree sodomy or attempted sodomy.

Charging documents say Eckols performed or attempted to perform several sex acts on another man Sunday at the St. Charles university's campus. A St. Charles detective wrote in the probable cause statement that Eckols said he thought that the man was "out cold."

The detective says the man awoke but was so intoxicated he couldn't move or speak.

Eckols' lawyer, Jeffrey Goldfarb, told The Associated Press on Friday that he is disputing the charge and intends to take the case to trial.