Ex-NC State sports medicine director arrested after indictment - ESPN

Authorities confirmed the arrest of former NC State sports medicine director Robert Michael Murphy on Wednesday evening after a grand jury indicted him last week on multiple felony and misdemeanor counts involving the sexual abuse of male student-athletes he had treated.

Murphy's attorney did not immediately respond to an ESPN request for comment. Jared Hammett, a Raleigh-based attorney representing Murphy, issued a statement to The Associated Press in June following the dismissal of a civil suit describing his client as «someone who dedicated his life to working with athletes» while referring to a «rush to judgment» that can impact «real people's lives.»

«The truth is nothing happened but a man's career being ruined for money,» Hammett said.

The grand jury handed down sealed indictments Sept. 14, but the charges remained secret until Murphy could be located. Courts often seal indictments to give authorities time to arrest suspects or prevent suspects from fleeing the jurisdiction.

However, portions of the still-sealed file were inadvertently posted to the Wake County, North Carolina, court website last week, then quickly removed before being reposted and again removed. At that point, ESPN was able to confirm that Murphy faced at least two felony indictments for sexual penetration or contact under the guise of medical treatment and four other indictments for sexual battery.

Murphy is charged under a 2019 North Carolina law that made abuse under the guise of medical treatment a felony. He was taken into custody Wednesday in Ocala, Florida, where he currently resides.

The Marion County, Florida, sheriff's office listed Murphy as having been booked shortly after 9 p.m. ET.

Allegations of abuse by Murphy first came to light