C of C bans 2 suspects from campus

Two College of Charleston students implicated in the robbery of a Citadel football coach are banned from returning to campus if they are released from jail, college officials said Thursday.

Charleston police have charged freshmen Sasha Gaskins, 18, and her boyfriend, 20-year-old Stephen Francois, in Saturday's robbery of assistant football coach Joshua Harpe at his West Ashley apartment.

Harpe was held at gunpoint, bound with duct tape and robbed of electronics.

Former Citadel football players Miguel Starks, 19, and Reggie Rice, 22, also face charges in that crime. Charleston County sheriff's deputies also have charged Gaskins in connection with a Feb. 24 home invasion on James Island in which a former Citadel cadet was robbed and a woman sexually assaulted.

Starks and Rice were named in arrest affidavits as co-defendants in that crime, but they have not been formally charged.

The College of Charleston released a statement Thursday saying that Gaskins and Francois have been prohibited from setting foot on campus.

The college, however, cautioned that the action "is not and should not be considered as a finding of culpability against them resulting from any alleged act."

College officials said they are constrained by federal student privacy laws from disclosing more information about the two students at this time.

Gaskins is a sociology major whose minor course of study is crime, law and society. Francois transferred to the college this semester from Charleston Southern University. His declared major is education, school officials said.

As of Tuesday, Starks was no longer enrolled in The Citadel, officials said. Like the others, he is being held without bail at the county jail.

Citadel President Lt. Gen. John Rosa addressed the situation Thursday in a lengthy message to the school's faculty, staff and alumni. A school spokeswoman forwarded the statement to the media.

The message read, in part: "I addressed the Corps (of Cadets) at lunch today in Coward Hall. I told them what I expected of them, that they will hold themselves and others accountable for meeting the high standards of The Citadel.

"I also told them all to take a hard look in the mirror, and if they aren't willing to meet our standards that they should leave The Citadel. I also let them know that I am confident they will uphold our college's values and traditions."

Attorney Chris Skipper of Charleston released a statement indicating he had been hired by Starks' parents to represent the former quarterback. He said it would be inappropriate for him to comment further while the criminal investigation is pending.

"We ask that the community withhold judgment while the legal process proceeds," he said.