Report: Pitt freshman Dior Johnson facing aggravated assault, false imprisonment charges

Dior Johnson, a freshman at Pitt and former top-50 recruit, is facing charges of aggravated assault and false imprisonment, according to WTAE-TV. The charges stem from an incident in September.

Johnson has been charged with aggravated and simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and strangulation, WTAE reported Friday. Johnson allegedly slapped a woman across the face with “full force” in the late hours of Sept. 5 and early morning of Sept. 6 after he became angry she got him and his phone wet. He then took the woman’s phone before returning around 4 a.m. to return it, according to a complaint WTAE obtained.

Then, a verbal argument began at 8:30 a.m. before Johnson allegedly “got violent and repeatedly punched (the woman) in her arms, stomach, and head multiple times,” according to the complaint.

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Friday night, Pitt released a statement announcing Johnson has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the situation.

“University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball student-athlete Dior Johnson has been indefinitely suspended from all team activities pending the resolution of legal charges filed against him,” the statement read. “The Pitt Athletic Department, which became aware of the charges Friday afternoon, will decline further comment until the legal process has reached a resolution.”

Johnson is getting ready for his freshman year at Pitt after garnering plenty of hype on the recruiting trail. He was a four-star recruit and the No. 48 player in the nation from the class of 2022, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He initially committed to Oregon before flipping his commitment to the Panthers.

Johnson was part of a recruiting class that came in as the No. 26 group in the country, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking. He’s seen as a potential impact freshman for the Panthers this season, and CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein put him among the top freshmen in the ACC. Pitt hadn’t commented on the situation as of publication.

The Panthers are coming off an 11-21 record in 2021-22, including a 6-14 mark in ACC play. They’re gearing up to start the 2022-23 campaign Nov. 7 against UT-Martin.