Former Penn State football player and current student Scott Paxson was arrested yesterday and charged in the rape of a woman in December 2004 in Nittany Apartments.

Penn State University Police interviewed the victim, a former Penn State student, in the early morning hours of Dec. 15, 2004, at Mount Nittany Medical Center.

Now -- more than a year after the victim told police, according to court documents, that she did not give Paxson consent or want to have sexual intercourse with him -- Paxson faces sexual assault, indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault charges.

Centre County Assistant District Attorney Lance Marshall said the charges took awhile to be filed, possibly because of the victim's graduation and subsequent move out of Pennsylvania, the overturn of district attorneys and the sensitive nature of the case.

It was not, Marshall said, an effort to allow Paxson to play out his last year as a starting defensive tackle.

"The football season had nothing to do with it -- we did not wait until the end of football season," he said.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig echoed Marshall's statement, saying it's "absolutely not the case" that Paxson's charges were kept quiet because of football.

In fact, Kendig said that Judicial Affairs addressed the sexual assault case about eight months ago and that the office had dropped all charges.

"Mr. Paxson was found not responsible for violations of the student code of conduct in relation to this alleged incident," he said.

Multiple messages left for Office of Judicial Affairs Director Joseph Puzycki were not returned yesterday.

Paxson's agent, Chuck Abel, said that because Paxson was cleared through Judicial Affairs, he expects the criminal charges will also be dropped.

"Scott understands the serious nature of this, and he is confident that he'll be cleared again," Abel said.

According to court documents, the rape occurred sometime between midnight and 1 a.m. in Paxson's residence in Nittany Apartments Building 33.

The victim told police she "attempted to push herself away from" Paxson, who "held the victim down by her shoulder." The criminal complaint also alleges that Paxson "forced the victim over a couch in the apartment and continued to have vaginal intercourse" with her.

The court documents indicate that Paxson removed the victim's clothes, forced finger penetration on her, picked her up and refused to let her leave his apartment.

Paxson, now a senior, was suspended indefinitely by coach Joe Paterno before the weekend of March 25, 2005, for his alleged role in a bow-and-arrow incident.

The incident, which included other football players, occurred when arrows were fired from Paxson's residence in Nittany Apartments through the wall and into the adjoining apartment.

Judicial Affairs cleared Paxson of the charges in early April 2005.

Paxson was arraigned yesterday before District Judge Jonathan Grine. He was released on $150,000 unsecured bail -- meaning he is not incarcerated and has to pay only if he doesn't show up for court hearings.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at Centre County Courthouse.