BJJ World Champions Arrested for Sexual Assault of Teammate

Matt Phillips · 1/10/2013 12:25am

DC Police announced Saturday that two Maryland men have been arrested for a sexual assault on New Year’s Day at the St Mattew's Center parking garage on the 1700 block of Rhode Island Avenue, NW. According to police, an adult female left a party at DC's Midtown Partyplex with two known male acquaintances On Tuesday, January 1, 2013, at approximately 3:56 am. The suspects led the victim approximately 500 feet to a secluded area in the parking garage,where she was sexually assaulted by both acquaintances. Police arrested 2011 Pan Am gold medalist and former IBJJF Blue Belt division world champion Nicholas Schultz, and 2012 IBJJF Brown Belt Champion Matthew Maldonado in the case. Both were charged with second-degree sexual abuse. Schultz and Maldonado have preliminary hearings scheduled for Thursday morning. The contact for this case is given as Officer Hugh Carew (202-727-4383).

Quoting from ABC News Radio: "... the young woman, Maldonado and Schultz all know each other from the Lloyd Irvin Martial Arts School in Camps Springs where they trained. Police said the woman bumped in the two men at a club in D.C. They offered to escort her to an instructor's home, because she was too drunk to drive. But the men took her to the St. Matthew's Center parking garage instead, police explained, where surveillance cameras captured Maldanado raping the woman and Shultz joining in."

According to court documents, DC police stated in their report that upon entering a secluded area of the parking garage, The surveillance video showed Mr. Maldonado raping the woman first. After several minutes, Mr. Maldonado stopped and walked away and Mr. Schultz continued the assault. Court records read: “During the alleged attack (the victim) fell backwards, striking her head against the wall… she later stuck her head again…(and) collapsed to the ground several times, her head again hitting the ground”

Coach Irvin identified the victim as a previous employee of his Camp Springs gym; Schultz's Facebook page lists him as an employee there. While Maldonado has been confirmed to be residing at the same address as Schultz, he has been most recently employed at Coban's Muay Thai in New York City, and Alliance BJJ NYC where he was recently promoted to Brown Belt under Fabio Clemente.