Jonathan Taylor Accuser Recants Domestic Violence Claim Against Ex-Alabama Player, Arrested For Filing False Report

The apparent girlfriend of former University of Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Taylor recanted her domestic assault accusation against him Wednesday, according to a report. Tuscaloosa County police arrested the woman, whose name has been withheld from the public, after she submitted a statement in which she stated that she lied about the attack.

"On March 30, 2015, the female contacted investigators and stated that she wanted to recant her statements about the previous domestic violence incidents and that Taylor did not harm her," Tuscaloosa County police said in a statement obtained by ESPN. "The female was [further] interviewed on March 31, 2015, and maintained that she had lied about the previous incidents.”

The 24-year-old woman, identified as Taylor’s girlfriend in initial reports of his arrest, reiterated that she had argued with the college football player, but said in subsequent meetings with investigators that the confrontation never turned violent, according to AL.com. She was charged with filing a false police report and released after she posted bail.

Despite the woman’s retraction, Kip Hart, Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit assistant commander, said she had “visible marks” when she met with police, according to ESPN. Authorities also discovered damage to her apartment consistent with her initial statement. Police are in the process of reviewing the charges against Taylor. “We’re scratching the surface of what’s going on,” Hart said.

Taylor, 21, was arrested Sunday and charged with third-degree assault and criminal mischief, according to the Associated Press. It was his second arrest for domestic assault – Taylor was kicked out of the University of Georgia for a similar incident six months earlier.

“Jonathan Taylor has been dismissed from the team and is no longer a part of our program,” Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban said in a statement. “This will still need to go through the legal process, but when he was given an opportunity here, it was under strict guidelines, and we made it clear there was a zero-tolerance policy.”